{
  "id": 7515141,
  "title": "Cuban dance teacher in Russia ran Europe-wide sabotage network",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/cuban-dance-teacher-in-russia-ran-europe-wide-sabotage-network",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T09:03:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Voice of Ukraine",
    "slug": "new-voice-of-ukraine",
    "url": "https://english.nv.ua/nation/cuban-dancer-organized-arson-attacks-in-european-union-as-part-of-russian-sabotage-in-europe-50641502.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cuban-born dance instructor Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, currently residing in Russia, orchestrated a network of arson attacks that spanned four European Union nations, according to an investigative report by Deutsche Welle (DW) and three other European news outlets. The report, published on September 14, revealed that Durruthy employed aliases such as Adrian or Dios and advertised job listings on Telegram channels, including positions as a photographer in Poland and work for Cubans living in Russia. The ads promised a $1,500 salary for each completed operation, along with bonuses for successful assignments. The investigation uncovered that Dios recruited individuals with military backgrounds to carry out sabotage for Russia in at least four EU countries, predominantly from Spanish-speaking nations. Over several months, journalists identified Durruthy and reconstructed his network of operatives involved in the attacks. However, not all recruited agents managed to complete their assigned tasks. Durruthy, originally from Camagüey, Cuba's third-largest city, had been living in Russia for a minimum of seven years. He teaches Latin American dance in Petrozavodsk and is listed as a contact on local dance studios' social media pages. In 2022, he married a Russian woman, obtained Russian citizenship, and had children. The source could not determine when Durruthy began collaborating with Russian intelligence services, but leaked data suggests he may have faced financial hardships in 2023, taking out loans from various lenders. One of Dios's recruits was Luis Alfonso Murillo, a 34-year-old Colombian former soldier, who later joined the Ukrainian army. Despite being recruited to carry out arson in Europe, Murillo ultimately decided to fight in Ukraine, where he can earn substantial monthly wages. When Murillo arrived in Bucharest in July 2024, Dios provided him with instructions to photograph and set fire to various targets, including a waste-processing facility and an oil well. However, Murillo was detained near the waste-processing facility after completing his photo mission. Other targets of Dios's operatives included a construction-materials warehouse in Poland, a bus depot in the Czech Republic, a waste-processing plant in Romania, and Lithuanian equipment intended for Ukraine. Lithuanian authorities publicly linked these arson attacks to Russian military intelligence. In 2024, Dios directed his agents to set fire to a shopping center in Poland, an Ikea store in Lithuania, and send incendiary devices that detonated at logistics centers across several countries. German authorities reported that agents directed an explosive-laden drone at a Ukrainian cargo plane in Leipzig. European authorities are still seeking Durruthy, who may still be in Russia. The Made in Cuba dance studio posted a video in April 2026, showing Durruthy teaching a salsa class, demonstrating his continued presence in the region.",
  "summary": "Cuban-born Oemis Romagoza Durruthy, who works as a dance teacher in Russia, organized a series of arson attacks in at least four European Union countries, according to an investigation by Deutsche Welle (DW) and three other European media organizations, published on Sept. 14.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}