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The US government has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms charged of enlisting South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, following an investigation which disclosed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to engage in combat – an event that led to an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

These South American veterans have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The Treasury alleged he played a key part in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated 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 carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his operations.

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

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, described the sanctions as a "major" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government recently passed a law ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, aiming to curb its citizens' long history in international fights and transform domestic defense strategy.

Sean McFate, an expert on mercenaries, urged more caution, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.