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The US government has levied restrictions on a operation of four people and four firms alleged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, after an investigation which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have reportedly trained child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the network. "Recently, American entities linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, described the sanctions as a "highly important" development, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.