United States Enforces Restrictions on Network Alleged of Funneling South American Fighters to Sudan.

The United States has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered in 2024, prompted by an report which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been contracted to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The government said he had a key part in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company linked to managing finances and payments for the scheme. "In 2024 and 2025, American entities linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury stated.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "highly important" development, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the right way to go".

She added that, Bogotá recently passed a law endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," he advised.