🔗 Share this article

The United States has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to terrible atrocities encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, following an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency announced.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "very significant" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.