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The United States has enforced penalties on a group of several persons and entities alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

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

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction accused of terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, following an report which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to fight – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer located in the UAE. The US authorities said he had a central role in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities associated with Duque conducted several money transfers, worth millions," the government release stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "highly important" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Bogotá ratified a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.