🔗 Share this article

The US government has enforced penalties on a network of several persons and entities accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, after an inquiry which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to fight – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during years of internal conflict, training on Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The Treasury accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the belligerents," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "highly important" step, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.