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The Washington has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to horrific war crimes such as ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged in 2024, prompted by an report which disclosed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been contracted to participate in the war – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the contractors have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The US authorities alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" development, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.

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

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.