🔗 Share this article

The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction accused of horrific war crimes such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, after an report which revealed that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience resulting from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer located in the Dubai. The government alleged he played a central role in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed alleged to have financial transactions connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "major" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.