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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a group of several persons and entities charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to severe violations such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged in 2024, after an inquiry which disclosed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved previously stated that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The government alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Recently, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" step, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Bogotá has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.