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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms accused of enlisting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a force linked to severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered the previous year, after an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to fight – an discovery that resulted in an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say oversaw a company accused of processing money and salaries for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "major" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia ratified a law ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.