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The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms alleged of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, prompted by an investigation which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to fight – an discovery that prompted an rare mea culpa 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 decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving financial and military support to the belligerents," the Treasury stated.

Expert Analysis

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "major" milestone, stating that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a law approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.