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The United States has levied restrictions on a operation of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the scheme was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged in 2024, following an investigation which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, 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 processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the department stated.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "very significant" step, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, the Colombian government has enacted a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The UAE has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.