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The US government has enforced penalties on a group of several persons and entities alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction accused of terrible atrocities including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, following an report which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The government accused him a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the network. "Recently, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the government release noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department stated.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "major" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, the Colombian government recently passed a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The UAE has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.