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The US government has imposed sanctions on a network of several persons and entities accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan the United States claims of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group accused of severe violations such as ethnically targeted slaughter and widespread kidnappings.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged last year, prompted by an report which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and superior tactical education.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have reportedly trained underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and participated in direct battles. An individual involved remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but noted that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer located in the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say oversaw a company accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms associated with Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, amounting to millions," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the other individual to be sanctioned, with the company she managed accused of wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges foreign parties to stop giving funding and arms to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the measures as a "highly important" milestone, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a statute endorsing the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he said. The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.