United States Enforces Restrictions on Network Alleged of Channeling South American Fighters to Sudan.

The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, after an report which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the UAE. The Treasury accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Recently, American entities connected to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "major" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.