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The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of several persons and entities accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries first came to light in 2024, after an investigation which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary remarked that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer located in the UAE. The government said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say ran a firm linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Recently, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, called the sanctions as a "very significant" development, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the UAE, 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. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.