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The US government has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, following an report which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an revelation that led to 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 vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the warring parties," the agency stated.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.