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The US government has imposed sanctions on a operation of four people and four firms alleged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, after an report which revealed that hundreds of retired troops had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company accused of processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Recently, American entities associated with Duque engaged in several money transfers, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury announced.

Reaction

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the actions as a "highly important" development, stating that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, aiming to curb years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.