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The United States has levied restrictions on a group of several persons and entities accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force accused of terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, following an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching underage fighters, taught fighters to pilot drones, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier located in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a pivotal function in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged oversaw a company accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, US-based firms connected to Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement noted.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be targeted, with the company she managed accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges external actors to stop giving funding and arms to the warring parties," the agency stated.

Reaction

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "major" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

She added that, Bogotá has enacted a statute ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing rampant mercenarism".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.