US indicts members of Russian spy cell for plotting assassinations on US, European soil
September 21, 2026 2 Comments
THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT of Justice unsealed last week charges against members of an alleged Russian intelligence network that planned a series of targeted assassinations in the United States and Europe. According to the indictment, the accused are part of a broad effort by the Russian state that amounts to a “global assassination network”—termed “intelligence services of the Russian Federation”, or “RIS”, network.
Three of the accused are believed to be senior members of the RIS network. They are: Yuri Khrameev, 63; his biological son, Kirill Khrameev, 27; and Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, 35. The elder Khrameev is a retired intelligence officer who claims to have reached the rank of colonel and has stated at least once that he worked alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past. The younger Khrameev is believed to hold a mid-level rank in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The indictment describes Durruthy as a well-known member of the Cuban expatriate community in Russia, who has operated internationally as a member of the RIS network.
The fourth suspect is named as Yaidel Delgado Suarez (known as “the Viking”), who, like Durruthy, is a Cuban expatriate living in Russia. The remaining suspect is named as Angel Eduardo Castro, a 22-year-old Venezuelan. Notably all five suspects remain at large and are believed to reside in Russia. The Khrameevs and Durruthy are Russian citizens. Durruthy is also a Cuban national, as is Suarez—the latter’s status described in the indictment as that of “a Cuban national living in Russia”. Castro is referred to as a “Venezuelan national living in Russia”. It is therefore not known whether Suarez and Castro also hold Russian citizenship—though they most likely do.
According to the indictment, in the summer of 2026 Suarez and Castro recruited a Venezuelan citizen who was living in the New York area. The unnamed Venezuelan, who is referred to in the indictment as “Resident 1”, agreed to engage in reconnaissance activity in the vicinity of a house where the RIS network believed an exiled Russian dissident resided. In exchange for his services, “Resident 1” was promised between $1,000 and $1,500. The recruit was also offered $40,000 in exchange for assassinating the RIS network’s target, but appears to have declined the offer. Read more of this post
U.S. charges Cuban national with conspiracy to finance terrorism on behalf of Russia
October 1, 2026 by intelNews Leave a comment
A recent investigation by German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle identified the individual behind the alias “Dios” as Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, a Cuban national. Born in Camagüey, Cuba, Romagoza has been living in Russia for at least the past seven years. He appears to work as a Latin dance teacher in “Made in Cuba”, a dance studio in the northern city of Petrozavodsk. After he reportedly faced financial strain, in 2023 Romagoza began to use Facebook to recruit individuals from Latin America looking for work in Poland or Ukraine. He would then transition the encrypted application Telegram to communicate with those interested in speaking with him, offering them $1,500 for each completed “operation”.
Romagoza’s recruits were largely Spanish-speaking migrants, Ukrainian refugees, and local youths with no prior connection to Russia or the Russian intelligence services. Investigators claim they were able to identify at least 12 such individuals who were recruited by Romagoza and directed to carry out surveillance and sabotage across Europe. These recruits were typically employed online and had no knowledge of their real employers (i.e. Russian intelligence) or the intended objective of their assignments.
One of Romagoza’s alleged recruits was Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa, a 34-year-old Colombian national. Romagoza initially contacted Diosa in a Latin American-themed Facebook group for users seeking to join the Ukrainian military. Romagoza offered Murillo a “special mission” in Europe instead of deployment to Ukraine. He also reportedly offered to coordinated Murillo’s travel and logistics in Europe. Without ever meeting Murillo in person, Romagoza instructed him to travel to Bucharest in July 2024 and take photos of a recycling facility and an oil well. Murillo was then instructed by Ramagoza to start a fire. However, Murillo was apprehended by Romanian officials. Upon his arrest, he claimed he did not intend to commit arson and told Romanian investigators he did not know who he was working for. Romanian authorities eventually sentenced Murillo to six years in prison for attempted sabotage in 2025.
U.S. authorities claim that Romagoza’s network was active between June and September 2024. During that time, the network allegedly set fire to two construction-supply businesses in Poland, a bus garage in the Czech Republic, a Romanian recycling facility, and a Lithuanian warehouse filled with equipment destined for Ukraine. Read more of this post
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with covert action, Cuba, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Luis Alfonso Murillo Diosa, News, Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, Petrozavodsk (Russia), Romania, Russia, sabotage