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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

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

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction accused of horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged last year, prompted by an investigation which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, knowledge of Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier located in the Dubai. The Treasury said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out several money transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "highly important" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a law endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.