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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of several persons and entities alleged of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in severe violations such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged in 2024, after an investigation which found that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience acquired during years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to cease providing funding and arms to the combatants," the department stated.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "very significant" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.