🔗 Share this article

The Washington has imposed sanctions on a group of four people and four firms charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction linked to terrible atrocities such as targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged last year, following an inquiry which disclosed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been hired to fight – an discovery that led to an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "major" milestone, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.