🔗 Share this article United States Enforces Penalties on Network Accused of Recruiting South American Fighters to the Sudanese Conflict. The US government has enforced penalties on a network of several persons and entities charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts. Operation Structure Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies. Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a faction implicated in terrible atrocities including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions. Discovery of Participation The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered last year, prompted by an inquiry which found that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been contracted to fight – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá. Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Western military gear, and high-level combat training. Role in the Conflict In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary remarked that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but added that "unfortunately that’s how war is". Named Entities Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and former army officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The government said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned. Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated managed a business implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Recently, American entities associated with Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement stated. Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers linked to Duque and his operations. "Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the agency announced. Expert Analysis A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "very significant" development, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach". She added that, Bogotá recently passed a law endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform domestic defense strategy. A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating the growing mercenary trade". "It’s an illicit economy and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.