🔗 Share this article

The United States has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, following an inquiry which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted 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 alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States linked to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "highly important" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a law approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.