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The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries first came to light last year, after an investigation which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The government alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

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

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "very significant" step, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in international fights and transform national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.