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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force accused of terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, after an inquiry which found that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved previously stated that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier located in the Dubai. The US authorities alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "Recently, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted wire transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Colombia ratified a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and transform national security policy.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.