How the Kremlin Seeded a Black-Market Ukrainian Weapons Hoax
Kremlin propagandist John Mark Dougan is apparently behind a supposed whistleblower claiming that Ukraine uses Western aid to endanger the U.S.
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Russian Media Claims Ukraine Sells U.S. Weapons to Latin American Drug Cartels
A pro-QAnon podcast that has previously seeded Russian disinformation narratives linked to Kremlin propagandist John Mark Dougan is now advancing the baseless claim that the Ukrainian military is selling weapons provided by the West to drug cartels in Latin America. And it’s using the testimony of a purported drug trafficker to lend the claim an air of authenticity.
A Spanish-speaking masked man described as a drug cartel member appeared on the April 14, 2025, episode of the podcast “Red Pill News,” which airs on Rumble and is hosted by Zak Paine, a self-described “citizen journalist” based in Florida who regularly promotes QAnon conspiracy theories.
In a prerecorded interview conducted by an unnamed and unseen person, the so-called “cartel whistleblower” claimed that he purchased Western weapons from Ukraine on the black market. “What we’ve gotten … from the Ukrainians, have been the M16s, the AK-47s, and they’ve also sent us, like some bazookas,” the man states. He adds, “We are urging the Trump administration to work with cartel members that fled not to deport them and want to provide proof and evidence in exchange for asylum.”
Paine, the host, then said he planned to share the segment with top Trump administration national security officials. “I have a number of people that I’ve reached out to and they’re going to be sending this segment of the show to some powerful people in the Trump administration,” Paine said. “These guys would certainly potentially have an interest in this,” Paine said.
The claim that U.S.-supplied weapons are being funneled by Ukraine to Latin American drug cartels comes at a particularly delicate juncture in the 3-year-old war in Ukraine. Peace talks involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine are ongoing, and Kyiv has proposed purchasing an additional $50 billion worth of weapons from the U.S.
New Face, Same Playbook
While Paine does not say how he obtained the video, the production reflects the signature tactics of U.S. fugitive turned Kremlin propagandist John Mark Dougan. Dougan previously used Paine’s Red Pill podcast to plant false narratives in the form of supposed whistleblower testimonies.
Indeed, three days after the Red Pill podcast appeared, the claim about black-market weapons sales was covered by the Boston Times and Clear Story News, websites that are part of a network of 171 fake local news sites previously discovered by NewsGuard as launched by Dougan to publish Russian disinformation ahead of the U.S. 2024 election. These articles baselessly claimed that the Department of Justice provided legal protection to the purported cartel whistleblower and had launched an investigation into the allegations. NewsGuard sent an email to the Justice Department seeking comment on the matter, but did not receive a response.
Dougan used a similar playbook in October 2024, when he appeared on Red Pill to present an unnamed Kazakh man claiming he was sexually groomed by then-Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz when the man was a student of Walz’s in Minnesota.
“Is it a surprise that Ukraine is smuggling weapons out that we’re paying for? No, it’s not. Is it surprising that it’s going to the cartel? No, it’s not,” host Paine told his audience of 197,000 followers on Rumble. “But here we have a firsthand witness, not only to the inner workings of the cartels themselves, but also to the weapons smuggling rat line.”
The purported cartel member also hinted at another theme often championed by Dougan, that top Ukrainian officials have diverted Western aid to support their supposedly lavish lifestyles. “I don’t know what they [Ukraine] do with the money, but it’s a lot of money, it’s enough to buy expensive stuff... like a mansion, a yacht,” the masked man said.
Paine’s podcast has previously served as a platform for Kremlin propaganda. In March 2022, in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Dougan regularly appeared on Paine’s Red Pill podcast as an “independent whistleblower” from Russia with supposed knowledge about U.S.-funded biolabs, according to The Daily Beast.
Back to Reality
There is no evidence that Ukraine is reselling U.S.-provided weapons on the black market. Experts and officials have repeatedly stated that although concerns about weapon diversion have prompted additional oversight efforts, there is no credible evidence of weapons trafficking by Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General told the conservative news site The Dispatch in February 2025 that its office “does not have any evidence of weapons diversion.” The U.S. Government Accountability Office told the outlet, “DOD officials with whom we spoke said that there was no credible evidence of diversion of U.S.-provided advanced conventional weapons from Ukraine.” (Reality Check members can see NewsGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprint here.)
Tucker Carlson and Tenet Media Set the Stage
Before the “cartel whistleblower” video surfaced on Red Pill News, the weapons smuggling cartel claim had been pushed by prominent conservative figures, most notably, in a Feb. 10, 2025, podcast episode hosted by conservative commentator and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. “The Ukrainian military is selling a huge percentage, up to half of the arms that we send them — half,” Carlson said on the episode. “A lot of it’s winding up with the drug cartels on our border. This is a crime.”
The claim was then advanced by conservative podcasters Tim Pool and Benny Johnson, both of whom were accused in a September 2024 federal indictment of unwittingly being paid six-figures to push pro-Kremlin messaging as part of the alleged Russian-funded Tenet Media propaganda network.
Armed with a video to advance the Carlson/Tenet tale, Paine closed the segment by reiterating his intention to get the video in front of top Trump administration officials. “This is quite a big deal, and I am hoping that after this premieres, I am able to get it over to some people at the Trump administration,” he said, “because at the very least, it deserves an investigation.”
As of May 1, 2025, no Trump administration officials have publicly said anything about the weapons smuggling claim.
Asked about his involvement in the Red Pill segment, Dougan declined to comment. NewsGuard sent an email to podcast host Paine seeking comment but did not receive a response.
Reality Check is produced by Co-CEOs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, and the NewsGuard team.
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