🔗 Share this article

The US government has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms charged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, following an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to fight – an revelation that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that training children 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 retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Recently, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the Treasury announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, described the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a law approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.