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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of recruiting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from decades of civil war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that training children was "awful and crazy" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged oversaw a company accused of processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the agency announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "very significant" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a law approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.