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The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms charged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, following an investigation which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that prompted an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

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. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "major" development, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting 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 relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.