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The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of several persons and entities alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a force implicated in severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, prompted by an investigation which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation 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 extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, training on Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have allegedly instructed minors, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved previously stated that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The government said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department stated.

Reaction

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

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a law approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in international fights and change its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.