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The US government has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group accused of terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, prompted by an investigation which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an discovery that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the UAE. The US authorities said he had a central role in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement stated.

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

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Reaction

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

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in overseas wars and reshape domestic defense strategy.

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

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.