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The Washington has levied restrictions on a group of four people and four firms charged of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, after an inquiry which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience resulting from years of internal conflict, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say oversaw a company accused of processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "highly important" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.