🔗 Share this article

The US government has levied restrictions on a network of four people and four firms alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered in 2024, after an report which revealed that hundreds of retired troops had been recruited to fight – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the contractors have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Recently, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the department stated.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "highly important" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.