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The Washington has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to fight for and train a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Group Makeup

Announcing the measures on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of ex-soldiers from Colombia have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group accused of horrific war crimes encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The involvement of Colombian fighters initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which found that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been recruited to participate in the war – an event that resulted in an rare mea culpa from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge acquired during decades of civil war, familiarity with Western military gear, and elite military instruction.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have reportedly trained child soldiers, taught fighters to pilot drones, and engaged in frontline combat. One source previously stated that instructing minors was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer located in the Dubai. The government accused him a central role in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "In 2024 and 2025, companies in the United States associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw accused of wire transfers linked to Duque and his businesses.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of financial and military support to the belligerents," the Treasury said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

A senior analyst, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described the actions as a "very significant" milestone, saying that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

She added that, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and transform national security policy.

Sean McFate, a authority on private military contractors, urged more caution, noting that "penalties are required yet incomplete for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in Dubai, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he stated. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, claims it rejects. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.