🔗 Share this article

The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

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

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to horrific war crimes including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an investigation which found that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience acquired during decades of civil war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The government alleged he played a central role in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say managed a business implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

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

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a statute ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change national security policy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.