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The Washington has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to horrific war crimes such as targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries first came to light last year, following an inquiry which revealed that hundreds of retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the Colombians have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The government said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury stated.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "major" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia has enacted a piece of legislation endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.