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The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction accused of terrible atrocities including targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an report which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an event that led to an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business accused of handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to stop giving funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "highly important" development, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and based out of Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.