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The United States has imposed sanctions on a group of four people and four firms accused of enlisting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a force accused of severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered last year, following an investigation which revealed that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have reportedly trained child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer located in the UAE. The Treasury accused him a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm linked to processing money and salaries for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "very significant" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government ratified a law endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.