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The United States has enforced penalties on a network of several persons and entities accused of enlisting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged in 2024, following an inquiry which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to fight – an discovery that led to an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the agency announced.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a statute 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.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and operating from Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.