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The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of four individuals and four companies charged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Sudanese RSF militia, a group accused of horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged last year, prompted by an report which revealed that over three hundred former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during years of internal conflict, knowledge of Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have allegedly instructed child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. The US authorities alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say oversaw a company linked to managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated alleged to have wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the Treasury announced.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "highly important" step, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a law approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.