🔗 Share this article

The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the network was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, after an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, familiarity with Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The Treasury accused him a central role in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing funding and arms to the combatants," the department announced.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "very significant" milestone, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a piece of legislation approving the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.