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The US government has levied restrictions on a network of four individuals and four companies accused of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on this week, the American treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, following an investigation which disclosed that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa 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 gleaned from years of internal conflict, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company accused of processing money and salaries for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "very significant" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.