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The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of several persons and entities charged of recruiting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction linked to horrific war crimes such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, after an report which found that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "Recently, US-based firms linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the Treasury stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "highly important" step, stating that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a statute endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.