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The US government has enforced penalties on a group of several persons and entities accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have been recruited to go to Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, following an report which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to engage in combat – an revelation that prompted an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved previously stated that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but noted that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer based in the Dubai. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Recently, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the official announcement said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the firm she operated alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the combatants," the agency announced.

Reaction

An expert, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a law approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in international fights and reshape national security policy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," the expert cautioned.