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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of several persons and entities alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in severe violations such as targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, prompted by an investigation which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to fight – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities alleged he played a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the government release stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

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

Analyst Commentary

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "major" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit its citizens' long history in international fights and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.