The abundance of Colombian mercenaries is driven by military rules forcing soldiers to retire young (age 45 or after 20 years' service). This creates a continuous pool of highly experienced veterans with inadequate pensions and institutional support, making lucrative foreign military contracts an attractive alternative.
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When instability in a country like Venezuela forces skilled professionals to flee, a multinational corporation can retain that talent by relocating them to offices in other countries, turning a local crisis into a global talent redistribution.
The most significant long-term threat to the supply of critical materials isn't a lack of resources in the ground, but a lack of people. The aging workforce of geologists and mining engineers, with a shrinking pipeline of new talent, poses a greater systemic risk to the industry.
Contrary to the image of mercenaries as universally brutal, data shows that private military companies based in democratic countries are associated with a 66% lower rate of civilian victimization compared to those from non-democracies, likely due to corporate accountability and reputational concerns.
The military's career path rewards generalist experience, effectively punishing officers who specialize in critical fields like AI and cyber. Talented specialists are forced to abandon their expertise to get promoted, leading many to leave the service not for money, but to continue doing the work they excel at.
In China's military, groups would collectively fund a promising officer's promotion, essentially "investing" in them. This gave the funders an option on a future revenue stream from corrupt activities and control over budgets once the officer was in power, with the CIA even allegedly participating to gain influence.
The federal government is failing to attract young talent, with only 7% of its workforce being early-career compared to 23% in the private sector. This creates a significant risk as 44% of the workforce approaches retirement age, leaving a massive knowledge and experience gap that threatens institutional stability.
The global talent pool isn't just for junior roles. Companies can gain a significant competitive advantage by hiring senior executive talent from international markets like South Africa or Colombia. This provides access to highly qualified, experienced leaders at a fraction of US salaries.
The critical blow to Venezuela's oil production was Hugo Chavez's 2003 firing of 20,000 experienced staff. This loss of human capital, years before major sanctions, caused the collapse. When these exiled engineers went to Colombia, they increased one field's output from 30,000 to 250,000 barrels a day, proving their value.
The primary driver for hiring private military contractors is not just deniability but massive cost savings. By avoiding long-term commitments like pensions and comprehensive healthcare, a single PMC becomes approximately seven times cheaper than a member of the national armed forces.
China's PLA was so corrupt that a system emerged where groups would collectively 'invest' in a rising officer's promotion. They would pool capital to help the officer buy their position, anticipating a return on their investment from the future stream of corrupt opportunities the officer would control.
