🔗 Share this article

The United States has levied restrictions on a operation of four people and four firms charged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to horrific war crimes such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, after an report which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been recruited to fight – an discovery that led to an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer based in the UAE. The government alleged he played a key part in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say oversaw a company accused of managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to stop giving financial and military support to the warring parties," the agency stated.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the actions as a "major" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and transform domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The Emirati government has been widely accused of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.