BOGOTA: Colombia’s government said Thursday it had asked Russia for information about the welfare of three of its nationals held by Moscow on suspicion of acting as mercenaries in Ukraine.

Two of the soldiers who had allegedly been fighting on the side of Ukraine reportedly disappeared in July while on their way home through Venezuela, a close ally of Moscow.

In late August, a court in Moscow said the two men — Alexander Ante and Jose Aron Medina — had been remanded in custody on charges of acting as mercenaries, a crime punishable by 15 years in prison in Russia.

The foreign ministry in Bogota said Thursday it had written to Moscow “seeking information on the legal status, current whereabouts and health status of the Colombian citizens.”

It said a third Colombian named Miguel Angel Cardenas was also being held.

The disappearance of Aron and Ante first became public in late July, when Aron’s family told Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper the two had disappeared just before they were due to board a plane at Caracas airport for Bogota on July 19.

The next time they saw the pair was in a video released by Russia’s FSB security services on July 30, which showed them in Ukrainian uniforms, and then being interrogated in prison.

It was not clear how they had arrived in Russia, which is one of the few countries to have recognized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s claim to have won a second presidential term in disputed July elections.

Venezuela’s opposition claims their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia was the rightful winner, a claim backed by several Latin American countries, the United States and the European Union.

A friend of Ante’s family told El Tiempo the men were in Ukrainian uniform when they went missing in Venezuela, which borders Colombia.

Colombia, where the security forces have been combatting guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug cartels for over six decades, has one of Latin America’s largest armies.

Some retired soldiers have gone on to fight as mercenaries in foreign battlefields, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since 2022, an unknown number has also enlisted with the Ukrainian army, trying to fight off a Russian invasion.

The relatives of several ex-Colombian soldiers have reported their loved ones killed, wounded or going missing in Ukraine recently.

Last month, leftist President Gustavo Petro’s administration tabled a bill in parliament to ban the training, financing and recruitment of mercenaries in the country.

SPRINGFIELD, United States: Government buildings and an elementary school in Springfield, Ohio were evacuated Thursday after an emailed bomb threat, police said, rattling the small US city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump.

Springfield has been thrust into the spotlight in recent days after an unfounded story of Haitian migrants eating pets went viral on social media, with the Republican ex-president and current White House candidate pushing the narrative despite it being debunked.

Democrats have accused Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, of fanning racial tensions as they use the Springfield conspiracy theory to elevate immigration as a campaign issue ahead of November’s election.

The White House condemned the conspiracy theory on Thursday as “filth” and said they were endangering people’s lives.

“It is spreading filth that makes the lives of the communities that are being smeared here... it puts their lives in danger,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

Despite local officials saying they had received no credible reports of pets being stolen and eaten, Trump repeated the claim during his debate Tuesday against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

Springfield police said in a statement that City Hall and several other government buildings had been evacuated after a bomb threat sent by email at 8:24 am (1224 GMT).

“Authorities investigated and cleared all facilities listed in the threat with the assistance of explosive detecting canines,” it said.

Fulton Elementary School and Springfield Academy of Excellence were also listed in the threat and evacuated, according to the statement.

“We are currently partnering with the Dayton office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to identify the source of the email,” it added.

Arriving at the school to retrieve his child, Haitian immigrant Mackenso Roseme told AFP that the current tensions in the community were “worrying.”

“I’m a little stressed. I think something might happen,” he said.

A sign in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole informed Roseme and other parents that the students had been moved to a high school.

Mayor Rob Rue told the Springfield News-Sun that the person who sent the bomb threat claimed to be from the city and mentioned Haitian immigration issues.

Despite the bomb threats, Trump was still reposting memes related to the conspiracy theory hours later on his Truth Social platform.

He claimed Ohio was being “inundated with Illegal Migrants, mostly from Haiti, who are taking over Towns and Villages at a level and rate never seen before.”

Springfield, with a population of about 58,000, has seen an increase in Haitian immigrants in recent years — 10,000 to 15,000 according to the Springfield News-Sun.

Social services, schools and housing have been stressed in the city for years, with some pointing to migration as a factor.

A multiracial group of pastors called a press conference Thursday in Springfield, joining hands in prayer and calling on the community to come together.

“Today there were some things that happened, some threats of violence,” Wes Babian, a former pastor of First Baptist Church, told AFP.

“That is part of what motivated the quick calling of clergy to come together to express our support for the Haitian community and our concern for the well being of the entire community.”