A Cuban man living in Russia coordinated the recruitment of people for alleged sabotage operations in at least four European Union countries, according to an investigation by DW and three partner broadcasters.
The investigation identified the man as Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, who used the aliases “Adrian” and “Dios”. It found that he lived in Russia for at least seven years, obtained Russian citizenship and worked as a Latin dance teacher in the northern city of Petrozavodsk.
DW and its partners said they reviewed classified court documents, leaked files, official statements and social media posts, and conducted dozens of interviews with security officials and people close to suspects. They reported that Dios used Telegram and other platforms to advertise paid missions and recruit people, particularly from Spanish-speaking countries.
One recruit, Colombian former soldier Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa, was contacted after joining a Facebook group for Latin Americans seeking to fight in Ukraine. According to court documents reviewed by DW, Dios offered him a role in “special missions” in Europe. He arranged travel and accommodation remotely, then sent Murillo images marking a recycling facility and an oil well in Romania.
Murillo was detained near the recycling facility after taking photographs. He told investigators that he had not intended to commit arson and had been trying to reach Ukraine, according to court records. He was sentenced in 2025 to six years in prison for attempted sabotage.
DW said Murillo was one of at least a dozen people recruited by Dios for operations across Europe. Over four months in 2024, the recruits were allegedly directed to target two construction-supply businesses in Poland, a bus garage in the Czech Republic, a recycling facility in Romania and equipment intended for Ukraine in Lithuania.
The investigation linked disposable agents to fires at a shopping centre in Poland, an Ikea store in Lithuania and logistics hubs in several countries. Lithuanian prosecutors were the only authorities cited as publicly attributing the arson series to Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, and had placed a Cuban man living in Russia on an international wanted list.
DW said it could not determine when or how Romagoza began working for Russian intelligence services. Intelligence Studies academic Daniela Richterova told the broadcasters that vulnerable people needing money were often targeted, while researcher Keir Giles said Russia had increasingly used disposable agents after the expulsion of suspected Russian operatives following the invasion of Ukraine.