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The US government has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to severe violations encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, after an inquiry which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the contractors have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The government accused him a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

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

"The United States again calls on external actors to stop giving financial and military support to the warring parties," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "highly important" step, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government ratified a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and reshape domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.