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The United States has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, following an report which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the UAE. The government alleged he played a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged managed a business accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed accused of money transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.