🔗 Share this article

The United States has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group implicated in terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light in 2024, after an report which disclosed that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that prompted an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

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, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. One source previously stated that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "very significant" milestone, stating that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.