🔗 Share this article

The United States has levied restrictions on a network of four people and four firms charged of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force accused of horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light last year, following an report which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to fight – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated managed a business linked to processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the agency announced.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit its citizens' long history in international fights and change national security policy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.