A 21-year-old Paraguayan man, Néstor Adrián Barreto, from the town of Choré in the San Pedro department, died in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia after being recruited under false pretenses. His father, Maximiliano Barreto, reported that his son was deceived with offers of well-paid work.
According to the family's account, Néstor traveled to Spain in February intending to work but was approached by a Colombian citizen who offered him money to operate drones in Ukraine. With no military experience, the young man accepted the offer and was sent to the front lines, where he ultimately died.
"My son was tricked. They promised him a lot of money and said he would only be operating drones," the father said emotionally. The family filed a complaint with Paraguay's Public Prosecutor's Office, warning that other young men from towns like Liberación, Lima, San Juan Nepomuceno, and Colonia Esperanza may have been recruited the same way.
Recruiters reportedly approach victims through social media, offering simple jobs with good salaries but actually sending them into combat without proper training. "They're used as bait and thrown onto the front lines," lamented Maximiliano Barreto.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraguay is leading the investigation into the case, working to identify those responsible for the deceptive recruitment scheme.