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The United States has imposed sanctions on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an report which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a dual national, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier located in the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a central role in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities connected to Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "very significant" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation approving the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and reshape national security policy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.