🔗 Share this article

The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of several persons and entities charged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

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

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, after an report which disclosed that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to participate in the war – an discovery that led to 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 considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the Dubai. The Treasury said he had a central role in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents," the department announced.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" milestone, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.