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The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

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

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, after an investigation which found that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source previously stated that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer operating from the Dubai. The US authorities alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated managed a business accused of managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the department stated.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "major" step, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a statute endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.