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The United States has imposed sanctions on a group of several persons and entities accused of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, prompted by an report which found that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. One source was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer operating from the UAE. The government accused him a central role in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say ran a firm linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "very significant" milestone, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.