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The US government has levied restrictions on a network of several persons and entities alleged of hiring South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group implicated in terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged last year, after an investigation which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been hired to participate in the war – an revelation that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved previously stated that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer based in the Dubai. The government alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers 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 officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have money transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury announced.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, described the actions as a "major" step, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a statute ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and transform its security approach.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.