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The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the scheme was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, after an investigation which found that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to fight – an discovery that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, knowledge of Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The government accused him a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to halt the flow of financial and military support to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, the Colombian government has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and change national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.