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The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities charged of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, after an investigation which found that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that led to an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier based in the Dubai. The government accused him a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department announced.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a statute endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and reshape domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating rampant mercenarism".

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