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The United States has levied restrictions on a network of several persons and entities accused of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the network was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction accused of horrific war crimes encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an investigation which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities accused him a central role in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "major" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.