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The Washington has levied restrictions on a network of four people and four firms charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group implicated in horrific war crimes including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light in 2024, after an report which disclosed that hundreds of retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the Colombians have allegedly instructed child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business accused of managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities connected to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the government release said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department announced.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "major" milestone, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá ratified a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and change national security policy.

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

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.