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The Washington has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of severe violations encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, following an investigation which found that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to fight – an revelation that prompted an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer based in the Dubai. The US authorities 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 the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "very significant" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.