🔗 Share this article

The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of hiring South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience acquired during decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, 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 ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.