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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a group implicated in horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, after an investigation which found that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an unprecedented apology 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 extensive battlefield experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. One source was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say managed a business implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "highly important" step, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.