🔗 Share this article

The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of severe violations encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, following an report which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the UAE. The government said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say oversaw a company linked to managing finances and payments for the network. "Recently, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to stop giving financial and military support to the warring parties," the department stated.

Reaction

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "highly important" step, stating that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.