🔗 Share this article

The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms charged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

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

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to severe violations such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light the previous year, prompted by an investigation which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the Dubai. The government alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated managed a business implicated in processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the government release said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, called the measures as a "highly important" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change national security policy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.