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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms charged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force accused of terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, prompted by an investigation which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that led to an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The government said he had a central role in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "Recently, American entities connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have money transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, called the measures as a "very significant" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government has enacted a statute ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and transform domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.