🔗 Share this article

The US government has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered the previous year, after an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to fight – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer based in the UAE. The government accused him a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say oversaw a company linked to managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "very significant" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in international fights and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.