Camilo Ochoa, a 34-year-old barber who worked in the El Condado neighborhood of Santa Clara, was identified as one of the Cuban mercenaries who died while serving Russia during recent military actions in the invasion of Ukraine.
His sister Bárbara Ochoa, who resides in Santa Clara, confirmed the tragic news to Martí Noticias. "We practically know nothing about him. Our sister, who is in Russia, is handling all the paperwork. He had one month left to finish his contract in the war," Bárbara commented.
Like many Cubans in his situation, Ochoa had big aspirations to escape poverty and improve his family's life. For that reason, he accepted a contract to participate in Russia's military actions in Ukraine in exchange for a considerable sum of money. On social media, Santa Clara is mentioned as one of the cities that has experienced a massive migration of young people recruited by Moscow.
Last year, Ochoa moved to Moscow after being contacted by a young woman who offered him a one-year contract to go to war on the Russian side. With less than a month left to complete his contract, a bomb took his life along with that of nine other Cubans serving the Kremlin.
Camilo leaves behind his mother and his two daughters, aged 12 and three. His wife, identified on social media as Yamarys Yaray, still has no official confirmation of Ochoa's death and chose not to make any further statements to the press.
"If God decided to take Camilo's life or not, I do not know, because officially I have not been informed of anything, and I do not have to give official information to anyone," said via telephone to the mentioned media.
The human cost
The neighbors of Ochoa revealed that his wife spent several months in Russia before returning to Santa Clara with the purpose of buying a house. The news of her husband's death came shortly after her return.
“They are not even going to return the body to her. She called the Russian Embassy in Cuba and they told her that they will hold a mass for him in Russia and collect some money for her. The wife is going to return to Russia and does not know how to face that reality,” explained a neighbor who requested not to be identified.
Eugenio Martínez, a childhood friend of Ochoa, deeply regretted the death of his friend and sent a message to young Cubans: "Upon hearing the news of his death, I believe that [it is important] for me as a man, as a person, [to tell Cubans] not to go to Russia to fight, because if you do not fight for your country, why would you go fight for another."
Martínez highlighted that he does not know of any Cuban who has returned alive from the war against Ukraine. "You never achieve your dream of coming back with money from the war. Everyone I know, which are many, has been killed shortly before their contract ends," he added.
Cuba's position
Since Vladimir Putin launched the large-scale invasion against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Cuba has maintained an ambiguous stance, avoiding directly condemning the invasion and echoing Kremlin's propaganda in its official media. The presence of Cuban mercenaries on the Russian front was reported following the visit of senior Moscow officials to Havana.
In September 2023, following reports by independent press about the massive recruitment of Cubans as mercenaries, the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel promised an investigation and made some arrests, although the detainees were released and the recruitments continued.
The poverty, hunger, and hardship that is being experienced in Cuba is what drives Cubans to get involved in a war that is not theirs. All I wish for is that Cuba becomes free again, that it has food and electricity. I don't want anything else than that. And that no one else goes through what my brother Camilo went through," concluded Ochoa's childhood friend.
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