🔗 Share this article

The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group linked to terrible atrocities encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged in 2024, following an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the government release stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving financial and military support to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "major" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.