US Imposes Penalties on Operation Alleged of Funneling South American Fighters to Sudan.
The United States has imposed sanctions on a operation of four people and four firms charged of hiring Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a militia force in Sudan the United States claims of committing genocide.
Group Makeup
Announcing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the scheme was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.
Scores of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.
Revelation of Role
The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, after an report which found that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.
These South American veterans have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.
Reported Actions
In the conflict, the mercenaries have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and fought directly on the frontlines. An individual involved previously stated that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".
Targeted Persons
Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a key part in enlisting and transporting ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was similarly targeted.
Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement stated.
Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the company she managed said to have conducted financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.
"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of funding and arms to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.
Analyst Commentary
A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the measures as a "highly important" milestone, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".
She added that, Colombia recently passed a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and transform its security approach.
Another expert, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing rampant mercenarism".
"It’s an illicit economy and operating from Dubai, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The Emirati government has been widely accused of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," the expert cautioned.