🔗 Share this article

The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

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

Scores of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group implicated in horrific war crimes such as massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered the previous year, following an investigation which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to fight – an revelation that led to an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. One source previously stated that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a central role in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "major" development, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government ratified a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.