🔗 Share this article

The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries first came to light in 2024, following an investigation which revealed that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to fight – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers 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 network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated accused of wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the warring parties," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The UAE has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.