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The Washington has levied restrictions on a operation of several persons and entities accused of enlisting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF paramilitary group, a group accused of terrible atrocities encompassing targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The role of these mercenaries initially emerged the previous year, following an investigation which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. One source remarked that working with child soldiers was "awful and crazy" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and ex-soldier operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying 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 officials alleged managed a business linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Recently, American entities associated with Duque conducted multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for foreign parties to stop giving financial and military support to the warring parties," the department announced.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, described the measures as a "highly important" step, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

Another expert, an expert on mercenaries, called for greater wariness, saying that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is relatively sanction-proof," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.