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The US government has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms accused of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a force linked to terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered last year, following an inquiry which disclosed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities said he had a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the agency announced.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

She added that, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.