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The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of several persons and entities alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered last year, after an report which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

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 decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier based in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities accused him a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the network. "Recently, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted several money transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the firm she operated said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the agency stated.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, called the actions as a "major" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation approving the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.