🔗 Share this article

The United States has enforced penalties on a group of several persons and entities accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a force accused of terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, following an report which disclosed that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the contractors have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the firm she operated accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "major" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a statute ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.