🔗 Share this article

The Washington has levied restrictions on a operation of four people and four firms alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, prompted by an inquiry which revealed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been contracted to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the contractors have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer located in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "major" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in international fights and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.