🔗 Share this article

The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of several persons and entities charged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force implicated in horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, after an report which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to fight – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during years of internal conflict, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier located in the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business implicated in handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "very significant" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a law ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and transform its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.