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The United States has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of severe violations such as ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an inquiry which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been hired to engage in combat – an revelation that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury said he had a central role in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, worth millions," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to cease providing funding and arms to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" milestone, noting that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a law endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.