Russian Propaganda Campaign Expands in Latin America Through Workshops and Street Outreach

Russia Today Expands Influence in Mexico Amid Election Tensions and Global Sanctions

Russian state media outlet Russia Today (RT) launched an aggressive promotional campaign in Mexico City between late 2023 and early 2024, coinciding with political tensions ahead of Mexico’s presidential election. The campaign featured posters in Metro and Metrobús stations encouraging commuters to scan QR codes for access to RT newscasts.

The promotional push drew scrutiny from Mexican media, which highlighted that RT had been blocked by the European Union and tech companies like Google for spreading pro-Putin narratives and disinformation about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, no similar restrictions were implemented in Mexico. Then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador publicly opposed limiting Mexican audiences’ access to content from RT or Sputnik, both Russian state-owned media outlets.

In January 2024, RT organized a communications workshop in Mexico City as part of its “RT CompaRTe” initiative. According to the channel, this program has conducted training events in at least eight Latin American countries over the past three years, including Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala, and Panama.

The Club de Periodistas de México, which hosted the workshop, told Factchequeado that “the spaces for RT were completely free,” with no fees charged to participants. “In fact, we provided coffee and a modest buffet, covered by the Club de Periodistas de México,” the organization stated.

The workshop covered topics including source management, research methodologies, artificial intelligence, and even fact-checking. RT claims more than 1,000 journalists and media workers from across Latin America have participated in its workshops and exchange programs since the initiative began.

Venezuelan fact-checking outlet Cazadores de Fake News reported that during a similar workshop in Venezuela, participants sympathetic to the government shouted “¡Viva Rusia!” and “¡Viva Putin!” at the conclusion of sessions, with Russian channel executives and the Russian ambassador to Caracas present.

In Mexico City, the workshop was held at the Club de Periodistas, led by Celeste Sáenz de Miera, a communications professional known for promoting pro-Russian narratives online. The club coordinates the annual “Certamen Nacional e Internacional de Periodismo,” where RT in Spanish and its journalists have been recurring award recipients.

RT’s Regional Reach

The Russian outlet claims its Spanish-language content currently airs in 18 Latin American countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Honduras, Venezuela, and Cuba. Sputnik, another outlet affiliated with Russia’s state-controlled international news agency Rossiya Segodnya, also targets Latin American audiences.

In Mexico alone, at least 81 cable providers carry RT, according to the channel. While Izzi removed RT from its package, TotalPlay still offers it. The Telsusa/Albavisión network broadcasts RT over open digital television, claiming coverage across 15 of Mexico’s 32 states with a potential audience of 11 million households.

“Personally, I don’t feel any opposition to RT in any Latin American country. RT has faced challenges in the U.S., Europe, and England, but we are happy, our audience is loyal, and it keeps growing,” said Victoria Vorontsova, RT en Español director, during the January workshops in Mexico.

Covert Operations Allegations

Beyond public broadcasts and workshops, multiple reports and legal actions allege covert Russian operations aimed at spreading disinformation and increasing polarization in several countries, including Mexico.

In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice seized 32 internet domains linked to the “Doppelgänger” operation, in which Russian companies allegedly cloned government and media websites to spread anti-Ukraine narratives, justify Russia’s invasion, and influence voters in events including the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

“As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including Sergei Kiriyenko, directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a campaign to influence the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election,” said then-Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

One seized document indicates that the Social Design Agency (SDA) included Mexico in its disinformation plans under “Operation México No Perdona” (“Mexico Does Not Forgive”). The campaign reportedly intended to encourage “anti-American sentiment” and exacerbate tensions between the United States and Mexico, with the ultimate goal of influencing the U.S. presidential election.

Factchequeado and El Sabueso of Animal Político have observed a surge in disinformation about Mexico-U.S. relations since early 2025, including fake accounts impersonating news outlets and journalists using AI-generated identities. One disinformation post warned, “If the U.S. army sets foot in Mexico, we go to war,” while others falsely attributed statements to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

In November 2023, the U.S. State Department warned of a Russian operation exploiting media contacts in 13 Latin American countries, including Mexico, to promote “Russia’s strategic interests in the region.” Russian agencies SDA and Structura, along with pro-Kremlin journalist Oleg Yasinsky, were cited as participants in these efforts.

As RT continues to expand its influence throughout Latin America, concerns about its role in regional information ecosystems and geopolitics continue to mount among media watchdogs and democratic institutions.