Mexican ex-federal police officer’s family waits years for remains after Ukraine death

Mario Alberto Lover Martínez, once an elite member of the now-defunct Mexican Federal Police, traveled to Ukraine in February 2025 to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense. He last spoke to his mother on June 7, 2025, before a Colombian commander reported his death two days later in a border zone amid drone strikes and gunfire. Despite the report, official documents still classify him as missing in action, and his body has not been retrieved.

Former Federal Police officers have increasingly enlisted as foreign fighters, with at least 18 confirmed in Ukraine in 2025 and dozens more awaiting deployment. The Mexican embassy in Ukraine has told Lover’s relatives that repatriation depends on a cease-fire and a costly DNA test that they cannot manage. His cousin Ernesto Zárate describes the recruitment process as clandestine, involving tests in the United States and travel through Germany and Poland before reaching Kyiv. The situation underscores the challenges faced by families of Mexican volunteers and the broader migration of trained security personnel to overseas conflicts.