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The US government has levied restrictions on a group of several persons and entities accused of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered in 2024, after an report which disclosed that over three hundred ex-military personnel 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 long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the contractors have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source previously stated that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The government alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "highly important" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá has enacted a statute ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.