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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of several persons and entities accused of recruiting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Announcing the measures on this week, the Treasury stated the operation was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a faction linked to severe violations encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The involvement of Colombian fighters first came to light last year, following an report which found that over three hundred retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that led to an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

These South American veterans have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, familiarity with advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have allegedly instructed child soldiers, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary remarked that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier located in the UAE. The US authorities accused him a central role in enlisting and transporting former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the restricted list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say managed a business accused of managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Recently, US-based firms associated with Duque conducted several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the Treasury statement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be sanctioned, with the company she managed accused of financial transactions associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the actions as a "highly important" milestone, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and transform domestic defense strategy.

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

"It operates in the black market and centered in the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.