US Imposes Restrictions on Network Alleged of Funneling South American Mercenaries to Sudan.

The US government has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to terrible atrocities encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light last year, prompted by an investigation which found that hundreds of retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated alleged to have money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "highly important" development, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a law ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.