A disturbing scheme of deceptive recruitment is drawing Panamanian citizens into the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to a special report by Telemetro. Behind seemingly legitimate job offers and fictitious contracts lies a web of crimes, with the promise of economic compensation luring unsuspecting recruits — and deaths have already been counted among those who accepted.
What Happened
The Telemetro investigation, presented in a special report by journalist Zelideth Cortez, exposes how false employment offers have been used to recruit Panamanians into the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The offers, backed by contracts that turn out to be fictitious, dangle the promise of financial remuneration in exchange for work that victims believe is legitimate.
At the center of the report are the testimonies of the protagonists themselves — Panamanians who lived through the ordeal and survived to tell their stories. Their firsthand accounts describe a harsh and dangerous experience, one that in some cases has ended in death. According to the report, fatalities have already been recorded among Panamanians drawn into the conflict through these deceptive schemes.
The investigation reveals that these fraudulent recruitments are not isolated incidents but part of a series of related crimes hidden behind the fake contracts. Victims sign documents they believe guarantee employment and pay, only to find themselves funneled toward a foreign war far from what they were promised.
Background
The war between Russia and Ukraine, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has created an ongoing demand for personnel on both sides of the conflict. International reporting over the course of the war has documented cases of foreign nationals — including people from Latin America — being recruited, sometimes under questionable or deceptive circumstances, to serve in the conflict zone.
Recruitment schemes of this kind typically exploit economic hardship, targeting people seeking better income opportunities abroad. A formal-looking contract and the promise of steady pay can be enough to convince someone to travel, often without fully understanding the destination or the nature of the work awaiting them.
For Panama, a country whose citizens generally travel abroad for work in legitimate sectors, the emergence of such schemes represents a new and alarming form of transnational fraud. The Telemetro report, through the voices of those who survived the experience, offers a rare inside look at how the deception unfolds and the consequences that follow.
What This Means for Panama
The confirmation that Panamanians have died as a result of these deceptive recruitments underscores the seriousness of the threat. The case highlights the vulnerability of job seekers who may be targeted by transnational criminal networks operating through fake employment offers.
The testimonies gathered in the Telemetro report serve as a warning to the Panamanian public: any overseas job offer — particularly one connected to regions of active conflict — should be treated with extreme caution. Verifying the legitimacy of contracts, recruiters, and companies before traveling is essential.
The report also raises questions about how such recruitment networks operate and reach Panamanians, and whether authorities will step up efforts to identify and disrupt them. As more survivors come forward with their accounts, the scope of the scheme may become clearer, and the deaths already counted make clear that the stakes could hardly be higher.
This story was originally reported by Telemetro.