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The US government has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, after an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to fight – an event that led to an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a key part in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business accused of processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the department announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" step, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in international fights and change its security approach.

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 centered in the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.