The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four people and four firms charged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.
Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.
Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to severe violations including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.
The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, following an inquiry which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.
Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience acquired during decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.
In the conflict, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".
Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier based in the UAE. The government said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.
Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement said.
Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.
"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.
A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".
She added that, Bogotá ratified a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.
Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing the growing mercenary trade".
"It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.
