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

Group Makeup

Revealing the sanctions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group linked to severe violations including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, after an investigation which disclosed that hundreds of retired troops had been contracted to fight – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology 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 a long-running domestic war, training on Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The government alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business accused of processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "In 2024 and 2025, US-based firms associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement stated.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "major" development, stating that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a law approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.