He Lakhta projectalso known in Dominican Republic as “The company“It is a digital network of Russian origin bound to campaigns disinformation, handling Politics and digital crime.
His name has appeared in Reports international for more than a decade, but recently He took relevance in the country after the arrest of a Russian citizen accused of directing local operations.
Origin of Lakhta
Lakhta goes back to the Internet Research Agency (Anger), an organization located in St. Petersburg that functioned as a “Trolls factory“Financed by Yevgeny Prigozhinthe oligarch near Vladimir Putin known as “Putin’s chef.”
According to the investigation of special prosecutor Robert Mueller in USAhe “Lakhta project“I had as a mission sow misinformation and divide Western societies.
With a monthly budget of more than one million dollars, Lakhta recruited young people specialized in graphics, data analysis and social networks. Its strategy included the creation of false accounts in Platforms like Facebook, Twitter or YouTube, presented as citizens common or local opinion leaders.
From there they spread messages Designed To look organic, with the aim of polarizing debates politicians, weaken candidates and undermine confidence in democratic institutions.
International presence
The operation has been detected in multiple countries. In USAwas indicated by interfering in the 2016 presidential elections, promoting messages that favored the candidacy of Donald Trump facing Hillary Clinton. In Europe, he was linked to campaigns against Ukraine and other countries in the region.
In Latin America, researchers have documented cases in Argentinawhere a network of agents that operated under false identities, and in other countries such as ChiliColombia, Mexico and Nicaragua, indicated as fertile land to manufacture “facades” and build new legends of espionage.
The Dominican case
This Friday 19 Septemberthe Dominican authorities reported the arrest in Bavaro, La Altagracia province, by Dmitrii Novikov, a 25 -year -old Russian accused of handling from the country a cyberinfluence network linked To Lakhta.
According to reports OfficersNovikov created and spread content on social networks for the purpose of disinformation politics, while using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to finance their operations.
During the operation, They seized evidence that relate it not only to digital propaganda, but also to the sale and distribution of arms of fire, which extends the magnitude of the case.
Risks and challenges
He Lakhta project It represents a direct threat to democratic processes in the countries where it operates. By distorting the information that citizens receive, there is a risk of Manipulate elections and undermine confidence in institutions.
In addition, the use of cryptocurrencies and networks of local collaborators opens the door to money laundering and financing of activities illegal
The Dominican Public Ministry continues to investigate the case, with the support of its high -tech units. What is clear is that Lakhta, under his local alias “The company“, has ceased to be a distant problem for become In a real challenge for safety and stability democratic of Dominican Republic.
