🔗 Share this article

The Washington has levied restrictions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in horrific war crimes such as targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, following an report which found that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source previously stated that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The government accused him a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the department stated.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" development, stating that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia has enacted a statute ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.