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The US government has levied restrictions on a group of four people and four firms accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light in 2024, following an investigation which found that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The Treasury alleged he played a central role in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated accused of money transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "very significant" development, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a statute ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.