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The US government has levied restrictions on a operation of several persons and entities charged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to horrific war crimes encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, after an inquiry which found that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "Recently, American entities connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to cease providing funding and arms to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" step, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars 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 centered in the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.