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The Washington has levied restrictions on a network of four people and four firms accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Revealing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, prompted by an inquiry which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to fight – an discovery that led to an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the UAE. The government said he had a central role in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the department stated.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Bogotá has enacted a statute ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and transform its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.