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The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of four people and four firms alleged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, after an investigation which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been contracted to fight – an discovery that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the contractors have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved was quoted as saying that training children was "terrible and insane" but added 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 former army officer located in the UAE. The Treasury said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw accused of money transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, described the sanctions as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Colombia ratified a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape its security approach.

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

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.