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The US government has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to severe violations encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light the previous year, after an inquiry which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The Treasury accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "major" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.