🔗 Share this article

The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in severe violations encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light in 2024, prompted by an report which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to fight – an discovery that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The government said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Recently, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to cease providing funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

She added that, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.