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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of four people and four firms charged of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, after an investigation which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to fight – an event that prompted an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source previously stated that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.