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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a operation of four people and four firms accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

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

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force accused of terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged in 2024, after an investigation which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the UAE. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, called the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a law approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.