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The Washington has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light the previous year, after an inquiry which disclosed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to fight – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer based in the Dubai. The government accused him a central role in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business implicated in processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have money transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency stated.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.