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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities accused of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to horrific war crimes such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, after an investigation which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The government accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Recently, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the firm she operated accused of money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the agency stated.

Expert Analysis

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "very significant" step, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.