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The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to severe violations including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light in 2024, prompted by an report which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, training on Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a central role in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "highly important" step, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.