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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of four people and four firms alleged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a force implicated in severe violations encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered in 2024, after an investigation which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to fight – an revelation that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The government said he had a central role in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "major" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and transform its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.