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The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, prompted by an investigation which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that led to an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer located in the Dubai. The government alleged he played a central role in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged ran a firm linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Recently, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the department stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.