Wagner PMC allegedly places $15 million bounty on Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto

Wagner PMC allegedly places $15 million bounty on Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto

Image of Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto. Credit: Wikipedia - By Ministero della Difesa - Ministero della Difesa, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128139439

A $15 million bounty has allegedly been placed on the head of Guido Crosetto, the Italian Defence Minister, by the Wagner PMC mercenary organisation.

It was alleged today, Thursday, March 14, that the Wagner PMC mercenary organisation had placed a $15 million bounty on the head of Guido Crosetto, the Italian Defence Minister. Italian intelligence sources claimed to have received information about this at least 10 days ago but they had remained silent until now.

Crosetto has been very vocal in blaming the Russian private army for an increase in African migrants arriving in Italy. Today’s report from the intelligence services apparently implicated Yevegeny Proghozin’s organisation in this.

The minister recently blamed the Wagner Group for the rise in the number of migrants hitting shores in Italy and other European countries. According to interior ministry data, there has been a large surge in the number of boats attempting to reach foreign shores which has resulted in deaths.

“I think it is now safe to say that the exponential increase in the migratory phenomenon departing from African shores is also, to a not insignificant extent, part of a clear strategy of hybrid warfare that the Wagner division is implementing, using its considerable weight in some African countries”, Crosetto said last Monday 13.

He added: “They should take note that uncontrolled and continuous migration, added to the economic and social crisis, becomes a way to hit the most exposed countries, first and foremost Italy, and their geostrategic choices, clear and sharp”. Crosetto compared the arrival of the migrants to a form of warfare waged by the Russian entrepreneur on behalf of Russia.

The burdens that arise as a result of the migrants should be shared by fellow NATO members Crosetto said, calling on Italy’s allies to step up their support. Despite the warning from Italian intelligence, the minister is not believed to have tightened his security, as reported by euractiv.com.

During his recent visit to Israel, Antonio Tajani, the Italian Foreign Minister, informed the media that he believed migrants arriving in his country were arriving from areas ‘controlled by the Wagner group’.

Responding to the accusations, Prigozhin posted a strongly-worked message on Telegram, in which he used the Russian word ‘mudak’, which is used to insult somebody.

He posted: “Crosetto should look less in other directions and deal with his own problems, which he probably failed to solve. We are not aware of what is happening with the migration crisis, we are not dealing with it. We have a lot of our own problems to deal with”.

According to Reuters, Prighozin’s mercenaries operate in several African counties. These are said to include Mali, Libya, and the Central African Republic (CAR). Wagner forces are currently involved in the bloody battle that has been raging for almost four months to capture the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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