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The US government has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting South American contractors to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to terrible atrocities including targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries first came to light the previous year, after an inquiry which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience resulting from years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged ran a firm accused of processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "major" development, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and transform its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.