🔗 Share this article United States Enforces Restrictions on Operation Accused of Funneling Colombian Fighters to the Sudanese Conflict. The United States has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of acts of genocide. Group Makeup Revealing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia. Scores of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a force implicated in severe violations including ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions. Emergence of Involvement The role of these mercenaries first came to light the previous year, prompted by an report which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government. Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction. Role in the Conflict In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained child soldiers, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. One source previously stated that training children was "terrible and insane" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way". Named Entities Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the Dubai. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well. Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the Treasury statement noted. Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies. "Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the combatants," the department stated. Expert Analysis Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the sanctions as a "highly important" development, noting that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go". It was also noted that, the Colombian government has enacted a law endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and reshape national security policy. Sean McFate, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, saying that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing the growing mercenary trade". "It operates in the black market and centered in Dubai, 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," McFate warned.