US Imposes Restrictions on Network Alleged of Recruiting Colombian Fighters to the Sudanese Conflict.

The US government has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to severe violations such as ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, after an report which revealed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The US authorities said he had a central role in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the department announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the actions as a "highly important" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a law approving the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.