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The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four people and four firms accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, following an report which disclosed that hundreds of retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an event that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military 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, familiarity with Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The government alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the department announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "major" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.