🔗 Share this article

The Washington has levied restrictions on a group of four people and four firms charged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an report which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been recruited to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "very significant" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá has enacted a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and transform national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.