Poland charges Colombian with terrorism over arson attacks on behalf of Russia

Poland has charged a Colombian citizen with terror offenses over his alleged role in two arson attacks carried out on behalf of Russia. The suspect has partially admitted his guilt and could face up to life imprisonment.
Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) says that the 27-year-old man, who was last month confirmation of arson in the Czech Republic, was responsible for two fires that occurred in warehouses in central Poland last year.
According to the ABW, the incidents were part of a large-scale operation by Russia that “recruited people of Latin American origin with military experience” to commit arson and record the acts for use in Russian disinformation campaigns.
Internal Security Agency officers have determined that a 27-year-old Colombian man acting on behalf of Russian intelligence is responsible for two arson attacks that took place in Poland in 2024. The incidents occurred on May 23rd of last year in Warsaw and a week later, on May 30th in Radom.… pic.twitter.com/TTzbfmraiA
— Jacek Dobrzyński (@JacekDobrzynski) July 29, 2025
The man is accused of carrying out arson attacks on two construction warehouses in Warsaw and Radom in May 2024. In both cases, the buildings were successfully set on fire, but were later extinguished by firefighters.
“These actions were commissioned, supervised and financed by a person associated with the Russian intelligence services,” the ABW wrote in a statement, before explaining that the suspect received information about the purpose of the attack and how to carry it out, including instructions on how to prepare a Molotov cocktail.
The Russian intelligence services “systematically and on a large scale recruited people of Latin American origin with military experience to conduct reconnaissance of designated locations, then set fire to selected buildings and document the damage,” the ABW continued. The photos and recordings of the acts were then used by Russian media for propaganda purposes.
According to the agency, the pattern of these crimes is “consistent with similar incidents identified in many countries in Central and Eastern Europe”.
Poland is facing a new type of threat: Russia's recruitment of civilians – often migrants from Ukraine and Belarus – to carry out espionage and sabotage. @adam_lelonek explains why this trend has emerged and how the Polish authorities have responded to it https://t.co/GSeBMlbPuV
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) April 9, 2025
Last year, Poland and other countries in the region suffered a series of acts of sabotage, among them a fire that destroyed Warsaw's largest shopping center. The authorities have blamed Russia, whose intelligence services recruited and hired people living in those countries – often Ukrainian and Belarusian immigrants – to carry out the attacks.
In May, Poland announced that it would close Russia's consulate in the city of Kraków in response to evidence that Moscow was behind the fire that last year destroyed Warsaw's largest shopping center on Marywilska Street.
In October 2024, foreign minister Radosław Sikorski ordered Russia to close its consulate in the city of Poznań and declared its staff personae non gratae in Poland in response to various forms of “hybrid warfare” by Moscow against Poland, including sabotage, cyberattacks and migratory pressure on its eastern border .
Poland says it now "knows for sure" that the fire which last year destroyed Warsaw's largest shopping center "was the result of arson ordered by Russia".
Some of the convictions are already in custody, says @donaldtusk https://t.co/m7lVAwJrVQ
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) May 12, 2025
Main image credit: Dariusz Borowicz / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
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