🔗 Share this article

The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies charged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Announcing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to horrific war crimes 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 found that hundreds of former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Recently, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the department announced.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "major" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.