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The US government has enforced penalties on a operation of four people and four firms charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Group Makeup

Disclosing the restrictions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was largely composed of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to the Sudanese warzone to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group implicated in severe violations including targeted ethnic killings and mass abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, after an inquiry which disclosed that more than 300 retired troops had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that led to an unprecedented apology from officials in Bogotá.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their vast combat experience gleaned from a long-running domestic war, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the mercenaries have allegedly instructed child soldiers, 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".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer operating from the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury accused him a key part in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who authorities say managed a business linked to managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

"The United States again calls on external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "very significant" development, stating that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá recently passed a law approving the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and reshape domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for dealing with widespread use of contractors".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the UAE, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.