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The US government has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Disclosing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an report which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during years of internal conflict, knowledge of Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The Treasury said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "very significant" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.