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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force implicated in terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, prompted by an inquiry which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The government alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the Treasury stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "highly important" step, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and reshape its security approach.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.