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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms charged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a group accused of severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, prompted by an report which disclosed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military 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, familiarity with Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "highly important" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.

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

"This is a shadow economy and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.