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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four individuals and four companies accused of hiring Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a militia force in Sudan which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in horrific war crimes including massacres based on ethnicity and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged last year, after an inquiry which disclosed that hundreds of ex-military personnel had been recruited to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from officials in Bogotá.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, training on Nato equipment, and high-level combat training.

Activities in Sudan

In the Sudanese theater, the Colombians have allegedly instructed underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary remarked that training children was "awful and crazy" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those targeted was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The US authorities accused him a pivotal function in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual Colombian-Spanish citizen who authorities say oversaw a company linked to handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque conducted numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release said.

Citizen of Colombia Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw alleged to have wire transfers connected to Duque and his operations.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the belligerents," the department said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, from a conflict think tank, called the actions as a "major" development, saying that "identifying the recruiters is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá ratified a statute ratifying the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in overseas wars and reshape national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for dealing with the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.