The United States has levied restrictions on a network of several persons and entities alleged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.
Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.
Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.
The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light in 2024, following an investigation which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to participate in the war – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.
These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.
In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".
Among those targeted was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer located in the UAE. The Treasury accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.
Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.
Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his operations.
"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the belligerents," the department announced.
Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "major" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".
Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform national security policy.
A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".
"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.
Elena Vance is a digital strategist with over a decade of experience in UK business consulting, specializing in technology-driven growth solutions.