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The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, following an investigation which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during years of internal conflict, knowledge of Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer located in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "highly important" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The UAE has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.