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The US government has levied restrictions on a network of four people and four firms charged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during years of internal conflict, training on Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a key part in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to stop giving financial and military support to the belligerents," the department announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "major" development, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.