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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a operation of four people and four firms accused of recruiting South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to severe violations such as massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged in 2024, prompted by an report which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from decades of civil war, knowledge of Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business accused of managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "very significant" development, stating that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.