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The United States has enforced penalties on a operation of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries first came to light last year, after an investigation which disclosed that over three hundred retired troops had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say ran a firm implicated in handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States linked to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated accused of money transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to stop giving funding and arms to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, described the sanctions as a "very significant" step, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.