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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of several persons and entities accused of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

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

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in terrible atrocities such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered the previous year, after an inquiry which revealed that hundreds of retired troops had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "major" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a law approving the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.