Cuban dance instructor accused of coordinating sabotage in the EU from Russia

A man identified as Oemis Romagoza Duruti, a Cuban-born dance instructor living in Russia, is accused of running a network that recruited Spanish-speaking people to carry out arson attacks across at least four European Union countries in 2024 while acting on behalf of Russian intelligence, according to court files and leaked documents reviewed by investigators.

Recruitment through social media and offers of quick pay

Profiles linked to the suspect posted offers on Telegram that advertised work using innocuous job descriptions — for example, "Work as a photographer" — and urged applicants to "send a CV, phone number and passport." Other posts, in Spanish, sought "people with military experience in surveillance, intelligence, logistics and tactical maneuvers" and promised $1,500 plus a bonus for each successful operation. Many recruits reportedly came from Spanish-speaking countries and answered ads placed in groups for Latin Americans living in Russia or seeking work in Poland.

One recruit, Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa, a 34-year-old former Colombian soldier, told investigators he had intended to travel to Europe to join the Ukrainian forces and had no plan to carry out sabotage. He was arrested in Bucharest in July 2024 after photographing a recycling plant that he had been asked to document and was later convicted in 2025 and sentenced to six years for attempted sabotage, according to court records.

Investigators describe the people targeted as "disposable agents" — individuals hired online who often do not know their handlers or the true purpose of their tasks. "Vulnerable people are often targeted," said Daniela Richterova, a lecturer in intelligence studies at King’s College London, describing how recruiters focus on those in financial need who will travel and ask few questions.

Leaked records, court documents and officials’ statements tie the alias "Dios" to Romagoza. Born in Camagüey, Cuba, he lived in Russia for at least seven years and taught Latin dances in Petrozavodsk, where he appeared in numerous online videos demonstrating salsa, bachata and kizomba. Documents show he married a Russian woman in 2022 and later obtained Russian citizenship; other files indicate he faced financial difficulties and took loans in 2023.

Lithuanian prosecutors have publicly linked a series of arson attacks in 2024 — including fires at construction-material companies in Poland, an IKEA outlet in Lithuania, a bus depot in the Czech Republic, a recycling plant in Romania and shipments of equipment destined for Ukraine made in Lithuania — to Russia’s military intelligence (GRU) and have sought an international arrest warrant for the Cuban living in Russia. Conflict researcher Kir Giles said the use of disposable agents filled a gap created after many diplomats suspected of espionage were expelled from European countries. "That created a gap in Russia's capabilities and it took time for them to find this new way of recruiting random people to carry out attacks that sometimes appear accidental," he said. "Russia does not particularly need to try hard to cover its tracks, because there is no negative consequence if it is discovered," Giles added, saying the tactic reinforces the impression Moscow wants to project that it can cause damage anywhere.

Photo: press material from the event