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The US government has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms charged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to severe violations such as ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, after an report which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been hired to fight – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The US authorities accused him a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque carried out several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to cease providing funding and arms to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "highly important" step, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in international fights and change its security approach.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.