Washington Levies Penalties on Group Alleged of Recruiting Colombian Contractors to the Sudanese Conflict.

The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of four people and four firms accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction accused of horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, following an inquiry which disclosed that hundreds of retired troops had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved previously stated that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The Treasury accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency stated.

Reaction

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

It was also noted that, Bogotá ratified a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.