A Cuban who earned a living teaching salsa and bachata in northern Russia simultaneously coordinated a sabotage network that carried out arson attacks in four countries of the European Union during 2024, according to a joint investigation by Deutsche Welle (DW) and three European broadcasters published on Monday.
Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, born in Camagüey and residing in the Russian city of Petrozavodsk for at least seven years, operated under the aliases "Adrian" and "Dios" on social media while publicly presenting himself as an instructor at the Latin dance studio 'Made in Cuba'.
The investigation, based on classified court documents, leaked files, and dozens of interviews with security officials, determined that Romagoza was acting on behalf of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence, and that within a four-month period, he ordered the arson of two construction material businesses in Poland, a bus garage in the Czech Republic, a recycling facility in Romania, and equipment intended for Ukraine at a company in Lithuania.
The Lithuanian prosecutor's office was the only one to publicly attribute the attacks to the GRU and to include Romagoza on an international wanted list. According to Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LTR), in January 2026, Lithuania charged six foreigners with terrorism for the attempted arson against TVC Solutions, a company in Šiauliai linked to military supply to Ukraine.
To recruit his operatives, Romagoza posted ads on Telegram and Facebook in groups of Cuban expatriates in Russia and Latin Americans looking for work in Poland or wanting to fight in Ukraine. He offered $1,500 plus bonuses for each completed operation, and in some messages, he presented himself as a member of a "special group" with "special missions" in Europe.
One of his documented recruits was Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa, a 34-year-old former Colombian soldier who sought to enlist in the Ukrainian army. He contacted him, remotely organized his trip to Bucharest, and sent him satellite images of a recycling facility that he was to photograph and set on fire. Murillo was arrested before carrying out the attack and in 2025 was sentenced to six years in prison for attempted sabotage.
Daniela Richterova, associate professor of Intelligence Studies at King's College London, explained the profile of the recruitment victims: "They are often vulnerable individuals who are targeted. Vulnerable individuals who need money and are willing to travel for compensation and refrain from asking too many questions about the purpose of what they are involved in."
The Kremlin intensified the use of these so-called "disposable agents" following the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats suspected of espionage by EU governments after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The conflict researcher Keir Giles noted that this expulsion "created a gap in Russia's capacity, and it took time to find this new way of randomly recruiting people to carry out attacks that sometimes seemed random."
The case is also part of the broader pattern of Cubans in the service of Russia documented since 2023, which includes the mass recruitment of island citizens to fight on the Ukrainian front. Romagoza represents a distinct dimension: a Cuban operative coordinating sabotage on European soil from Russian territory.
Romagoza Durruthy married a Russian citizen in 2022 and obtained Russian citizenship that same year. Leaked information suggests that he faced economic difficulties in 2023 when he applied for loans from various lenders. At least nine of his recruits have been captured; two are serving sentences ranging from six to eight years for attempted sabotage or terrorism.
European authorities are still searching for him, but he is believed to be in Russia. In April 2026, the study 'Made in Cuba' released a video of him teaching a salsa class. Meanwhile, around the same time, Romagoza joined at least two more Facebook groups of Latin Americans seeking work in Poland.
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