🔗 Share this article

The Washington has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a force accused of horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, after an investigation which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that led to an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but noted 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 UAE. The government said he had a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm linked to handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the agency stated.

Expert Analysis

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, Colombia ratified a law ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and transform domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.