🔗 Share this article

The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of several persons and entities alleged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction linked to terrible atrocities encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, following an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source previously stated that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier located in the United Arab Emirates. The government said he had a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "very significant" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a statute ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.