US Imposes Penalties on Network Alleged of Funneling Colombian Mercenaries to Sudan.

The Washington has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to horrific war crimes encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, following an investigation which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been contracted to participate in the war – an event that led to an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the contractors have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. 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 Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "highly important" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a law ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and transform domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.