United States Enforces Restrictions on Network Accused of Funneling South American Mercenaries to the Sudanese Conflict.

The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of several persons and entities accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction accused of terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged last year, after an investigation which disclosed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that led to an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "awful and crazy" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The government alleged he played a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Recently, American entities linked to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to cease providing funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency stated.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "major" development, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.