The news report on this topic was fabricated by propagandists. The mentioned soldier is considered missing.
Pro-Russian media and Telegram channels are rapidly spreading a Spanish-language news report claiming that the body of a fallen Colombian soldier, Michael Ramírez Fino, from the International Legion, was allegedly returned to his family without internal organs. In the video, the soldier’s mother supposedly claims that she reached out to the leadership of the International Legion and was told that her son’s organs were transplanted to wounded comrades. However, the woman expressed doubts about this. This is yet another attempt by Russian propagandists to revive their favorite narrative about so-called black transplantology in Ukraine. We have debunked such fakes multiple times, including in reports like Fake: Ukrainian Authorities and Volunteers Are Forcibly Taking Children from Parents in Donbas to Give Them to Pedophiles or Sell Their Organs and Fake: Mykolaiv Morgue is ‘Using Bodies of Ukrainian Soldiers for Organs – Photo.
However, this story is fabricated, and the video report was created by propagandists. First, we could not find any Spanish-language media outlet named Ahora. It is likely that the propagandists themselves created the logo of this fictional outlet. Moreover, no other reputable source has reported on this story. Second, based on Michael Ramírez Fino’s Instagram page, the woman whose photo is used in the video is not his mother. In reality, the soldier’s mother’s name is Lilian Ramírez. He also posted photos with a woman named Reyna Ramírez, who is either his grandmother or a more distant older relative. It is this photo that Russians used in the fake video. (Note: Out of respect for the soldier, we are not sharing links to his social media pages, as following the spread of this story, several Russian trolls and provocateurs have already begun harassing the Ramírez family in the comments on his posts.) Most likely, the voice of the so-called «Reyna Ramírez» in the video belongs to artificial intelligence—the woman talks about her son’s death in an extremely monotonous and emotionless manner.
To learn more about the fate of Michael Ramírez Fino, we reached out to the International Legion for a comment. A representative of the unit responded as follows: «The incident in which the soldier was officially listed as missing in action occurred in Ukraine. This designation was assigned because, despite the efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, his body has not yet been found or recovered. As a result, the military authorities have not been able to confirm his exact fate, and he remains categorized under this status until further evidence or recovery attempts clarify his situation.» Thus, while the soldier is indeed considered missing, the Ukrainian side has not yet received his body, which directly contradicts the propagandists’ story.
Recently, we debunked another fake regarding the International Legion in the article Manipulation: Ukraine Recruits Mentally Unstable Foreigners — The Washington Post.
