Washington Levies Sanctions on Operation Accused of Funneling South American Fighters to Sudan.

The United States has levied restrictions on a network of several persons and entities accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

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

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered last year, following an report which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to fight – an discovery that prompted an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the Dubai. The Treasury accused him a key part in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm accused of processing money and salaries for the network. "Recently, American entities linked to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the government release noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury stated.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, called the actions as a "major" step, stating that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Bogotá has enacted a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.