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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries first came to light the previous year, following an report which disclosed that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer operating from the Dubai. The government said he had a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who officials alleged managed a business linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the belligerents," the agency stated.

Analyst Commentary

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "very significant" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

She added that, Colombia recently passed a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The UAE has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.