🔗 Share this article

The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to terrible atrocities encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, prompted by an report which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the contractors have reportedly trained child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. One source previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States linked to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have money transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and change its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.