🔗 Share this article United States Enforces Restrictions on Operation Accused of Recruiting Colombian Contractors to the Sudanese Conflict. The Washington has imposed sanctions on a group of four people and four firms charged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide. Group Makeup Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the scheme was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies. Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions. Emergence of Involvement The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered in 2024, after an investigation which disclosed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry. Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Western military gear, and high-level combat training. Activities in Sudan In the conflict, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way". Sanctioned Individuals Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the Dubai. The government accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned. Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the government release said. Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers associated with Duque and his operations. "The US once more urges external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the Treasury stated. Reaction A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "very significant" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy". It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a statute endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and change national security policy. A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with rampant mercenarism". "It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.