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The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group linked to horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered last year, following an investigation which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been contracted to fight – an discovery that prompted an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved previously stated that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The government alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the agency stated.

Reaction

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

She added that, Colombia recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.