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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, following an inquiry which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to fight – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved previously stated that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer operating from the UAE. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say managed a business linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, described the sanctions as a "major" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.