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The United States has levied restrictions on a network of four people and four firms charged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light the previous year, prompted by an investigation which found that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged ran a firm implicated in processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Recently, American entities connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, called the measures as a "very significant" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government has enacted a statute endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.