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The US government has levied restrictions on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the RSF paramilitary group, a group linked to terrible atrocities such as massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged last year, following an inquiry which found that more than 300 former soldiers had been contracted to participate in the war – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the Colombians have been accused of teaching underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and fought directly on the frontlines. One source remarked that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier based in the United Arab Emirates. The US authorities 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 Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who the Treasury stated ran a firm implicated in managing finances and payments for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, American entities connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release stated.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to cease providing monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Reaction

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "highly important" step, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he said. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, allegations it disputes. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.