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The US government has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries first came to light the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an event that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the Dubai. The US authorities alleged he played a central role in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement noted.

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

"The US once more urges outside forces to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "highly important" development, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.