🔗 Share this article

The US government has levied restrictions on a operation of several persons and entities accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

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

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an inquiry which found that hundreds of retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an event that led to an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The government said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "Recently, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated accused of wire transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

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

It was also noted that, Bogotá has enacted a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and transform its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.