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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting South American contractors to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

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

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an investigation which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The US authorities said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Recently, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to cease providing funding and arms to the warring parties," the Treasury stated.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, the Colombian government has enacted a statute ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.