🔗 Share this article

The Washington has levied restrictions on a operation of four people and four firms charged of hiring South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, after an report which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the contractors have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The government alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted several money transfers, worth millions," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated accused of money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "highly important" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The UAE has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.