A senior Russian intelligence operative, Denis Alimov, faces detention by Colombian authorities and potential US extradition after an FBI probe uncovered a Kremlin-linked assassination unit via a Google Translate mishap.
Alimov, a decorated ex-Alfa special forces member tied to Russia’s FSB and GRU, was nabbed at El Dorado International Airport. US investigators link him to Centre 795, a shadowy outfit formed post-Ukraine invasion, reporting to top general Valery Gerasimov.
It handles sabotage, abductions, and killings abroad, succeeding the exposed GRU Unit 29155 behind incidents like the Salisbury poisoning.
The bust stemmed from a technical slip: operatives used Google Translate to chat with a suspected hitman targeting two Chechen dissidents in Europe, routing messages through US servers. Intercepted exchanges included: “I believe we will find him soon, he can’t be moving around all the time.
He’ll relax and fall into the trap,” and praise for Alimov as “one of the closest men to an important government official.”
Prosecutors say Alimov offered over £1 million per target, dead or alive, for delivery to Russia. The case, under FBI scrutiny for a year, may unravel Centre 795’s structure, base, and networks, compromising one of Putin’s elite squads.
