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The US government has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, prompted by an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to fight – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented 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 ex-soldier based in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque carried out several money transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, called the measures as a "major" milestone, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a statute endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.