🔗 Share this article

The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, following an investigation which disclosed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that prompted an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The government alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say managed a business linked to handling funds and payroll for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the department announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "major" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.