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The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of several persons and entities charged of hiring South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, following an inquiry which revealed that hundreds of former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the Colombians have allegedly instructed underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the UAE. The government alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated managed a business accused of processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the department announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Bogotá has enacted a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in international fights and reshape its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.