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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a group of four people and four firms accused of hiring South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, after an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the Colombians have allegedly instructed minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved previously stated that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The government accused him a central role in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say managed a business implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the government release noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, called the sanctions as a "major" step, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.