🔗 Share this article

The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on this week, the American treasury stated the network was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, after an investigation which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the Dubai. The government said he had a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the agency stated.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the sanctions as a "highly important" step, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.