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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of four individuals and four companies charged of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force accused of horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an report which found that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The Treasury accused him a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States connected to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency stated.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "major" step, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.