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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of several persons and entities accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, following an inquiry which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The government said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the warring parties," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá has enacted a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in international fights and transform domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.