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The United States has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction accused of terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which revealed that more than 300 retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the Dubai. The government said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm accused of processing money and salaries for the scheme. "Recently, American entities associated with Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, described the actions as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change national security policy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.