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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, after an investigation which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The US authorities said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms associated with Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Reaction

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

It was also noted that, the Colombian government has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.