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The US government has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in terrible atrocities including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, after an investigation which disclosed that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to fight – an event that prompted an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience acquired during years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Targeted Persons

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Recently, US-based firms connected to Duque carried out several money transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement said.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the Treasury said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "highly important" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the correct approach".

It was also noted that, Bogotá ratified a piece of legislation approving 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, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.