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The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms charged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, after an report which revealed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the contractors have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated alleged to have financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the department stated.

Expert Analysis

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "major" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a law ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.