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The Washington has imposed sanctions on a network of four people and four firms alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, following an report which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to fight – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say managed a business implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the Treasury announced.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "very significant" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.