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The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of four people and four firms charged of recruiting South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the restrictions on this week, the American treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force accused of horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an report which found that hundreds of retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source remarked that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "very significant" step, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.