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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of horrific war crimes encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, following an inquiry which revealed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to fight – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer operating from the UAE. The Treasury said he had a key part in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department stated.

Expert Analysis

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, the Colombian government has enacted a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.