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The US government has levied restrictions on a operation of several persons and entities charged of recruiting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

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

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force implicated in severe violations such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries first came to light in 2024, prompted by an report which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience acquired during decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary remarked that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier based in the United Arab Emirates. The government accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the department announced.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "major" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Colombia ratified a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.