🔗 Share this article

The United States has levied restrictions on a group of several persons and entities alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The role of these mercenaries first came to light last year, following an report which found that over three hundred retired troops had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from decades of civil war, training on Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved remarked that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The government alleged he played a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated ran a firm linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have money transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to cease providing funding and arms to the belligerents," the Treasury stated.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the actions as a "major" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the right way to go".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"It’s an illicit economy and operating from the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.