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The United States has imposed sanctions on a group of four individuals and four companies charged of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of terrible atrocities such as ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged in 2024, after an report which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been contracted to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved remarked that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented 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 operating from the UAE. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, called the measures as a "very significant" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, Colombia ratified a law approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape domestic defense strategy.

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

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.