🔗 Share this article

The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, 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 the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction accused of terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which disclosed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer based in the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have financial transactions connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government has enacted a law endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.