US Imposes Penalties on Operation Alleged of Recruiting South American Fighters to Sudan.

The US government has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a force implicated in severe violations encompassing targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered in 2024, after an report which disclosed that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The government said he had a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated accused of money transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the Treasury announced.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "major" development, stating that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.