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The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of committing genocide.

Group Makeup

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

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, prompted by an report which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to fight – an discovery that prompted an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the conflict, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The Treasury said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms associated with Duque conducted 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 financial transactions associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "major" milestone, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia recently passed a piece of legislation ratifying the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.