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The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of several persons and entities charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of severe violations including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an report which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury said he had a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to stop giving funding and arms to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "highly important" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and change its security approach.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.