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The Washington has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group linked to terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, prompted by an report which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The government accused him a central role in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say managed a business implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

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

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "major" development, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

She added that, the Colombian government recently passed a law approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The UAE has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.