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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms alleged of recruiting South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force accused of terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered in 2024, following an investigation which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to fight – an discovery that led to an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The government accused him a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "major" milestone, stating that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a law endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The Emirati government has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.