Cuban dance teacher ordered EU sabotage attacks from Russia

On social media platforms, the man called himself “Adrian” or “Dios,” meaning “God” in Spanish. In 2024, accounts linked to the man posted job ads on Telegram. “Work as a photographer,” one offered in Russian in a chat about opportunities in Poland. “To those interested in applying, send resume, phone number and passport,” another advertised in a group for Cuban expatriates in Russia. “Looking for people with military experience in monitoring, intelligence, logistics and tactical maneuvers,” one said in Spanish in a group for Latinos, promising $1,500 (about €1,300) plus a bonus for each operation completed.

Dios lured multiple people into carrying out sabotage for Russia in at least four EU countries, an investigation by DW and three other European broadcasters has found. Most of the recruits came from Spanish-speaking countries.

For months, DW and its partners conducted dozens of interviews with security officials and people close to the suspects. We pieced together classified court documents, official statements, social media posts and leaked data to find out who Dios is and reconstruct how he built a network of saboteurs to commit arson attacks across Europe.

Not all of them completed their tasks.

Read more: Deutsche Welle