Washington Levies Restrictions on Group Accused of Funneling South American Fighters to Sudan.
The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.
Group Makeup
Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.
Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in terrible atrocities such as targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.
Discovery of Participation
The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged in 2024, following an report which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been contracted to fight – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.
Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.
Role in the Conflict
In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".
Sanctioned Individuals
Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer operating from the UAE. 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 sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say ran a firm linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.
Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.
"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.
Analyst Commentary
A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, called the actions as a "very significant" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".
She added that, Colombia has enacted a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.
Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing the growing mercenary trade".
"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.
