A Cuban national living in Russia, known online by the alias “Dios” (God), orchestrated a network of saboteurs targeting infrastructure in at least four European Union countries, according to a joint investigation by DW and three other European broadcasters. The man, identified as Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, operated under the guise of a Latin dance teacher while recruiting vulnerable individuals from Spanish-speaking backgrounds to conduct arson and other disruptive acts.
Romagoza, who resides in the northern Russian city of Petrozavodsk, posted recruitment advertisements on Telegram in early 2024. The ads, written in Russian and Spanish, promised payments of $1,500 plus bonuses for completed operations. Seekers were asked to submit resumes, phone numbers, and passport details for roles described as photography jobs or military-style monitoring and logistics positions.
Among those targeted was Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa, a 34-year-old former Colombian army soldier. Following years of debt caused by poor coffee harvests, Murillo had joined a Facebook group for Latin Americans wishing to fight in Ukraine. Instead, he was contacted by Dios, who offered him “special missions” in Europe. Murillo traveled to Bucharest in July 2024, where he received satellite images of a Romanian recycling facility and an oil well via messaging app. He was instructed to photograph the sites and later ignite them. Although Murillo was arrested near the facility, he maintained in court that he believed he was working to reach Ukraine and did not intend to commit arson. He was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison for attempted sabotage.
Investigators confirmed that Murillo was one of at least a dozen “disposable agents” recruited by Romagoza. This tactic has become increasingly common for Russian intelligence following the expulsion of numerous diplomats after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Keir Giles, a conflict researcher, noted that this approach fills the capability gap left by expelled operatives, allowing Moscow to project omnipotence through看似 random attacks while minimizing the risk to its own services.
Across 2024, these agents were linked to a series of fires, including attacks on a shopping center in Poland, an Ikea store in Lithuania, and logistics hubs receiving incendiary packages. Lithuanian prosecutors have publicly attributed the arson campaign to Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, and placed Romagoza on an international wanted list. The specific targets assigned to Romagoza’s recruits included construction-supply businesses in Poland, a bus garage in the Czech Republic, a recycling site in Romania, and equipment destined for Ukraine produced by a Lithuanian company.
Romagoza, born in Camaguey, Cuba, has lived in Russia for at least seven years and became a Russian citizen after marrying a Russian woman in 2022. Leaked financial data suggests he may have faced monetary difficulties, having borrowed from multiple credit lenders in 2023. Despite the allegations, Romagoza continued his public life as a dance instructor; social media posts from April showed him leading salsa classes at a studio called “Made in Cuba,” with a Cuban song playing in the background.
European authorities report that at least nine of the agents recruited by Romagoza have been apprehended, with two currently serving sentences of six to eight years. While it remains unclear if Romagoza continues to direct operations from Russia, the broader campaign of sabotage against EU nations persists. Recent incidents in August included arson attempts in Estonia and Poland targeting firms supplying military components to Ukraine. DW was unable to obtain a comment from Romagoza regarding the allegations.
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