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The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Announcing the restrictions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group linked to horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged last year, prompted by an investigation which revealed that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience gleaned from decades of civil war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary previously stated that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer located in the Dubai. The Treasury said he had a key part in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged ran a firm accused of handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out multiple financial transactions, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be sanctioned, with the entity she oversaw accused of financial transactions linked to Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for outside forces to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the Treasury announced.

Reaction

An expert, from a conflict think tank, labeled the actions as a "major" development, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

It was also noted that, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and transform its security approach.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"It operates in the black market and operating from the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. 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.