🔗 Share this article

The US government has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction accused of horrific war crimes such as ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, after an report which disclosed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. One source remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer located in the UAE. The Treasury alleged he played a central role in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Recently, companies in the United States associated with Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "major" step, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government has enacted a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement 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 widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.