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The United States has enforced penalties on a network of four people and four firms charged of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Disclosing the restrictions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the network was largely composed of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of ex-soldiers from Colombia have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in terrible atrocities including ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, following an report which revealed that hundreds of former soldiers had been recruited to participate in the war – an revelation that led to an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from years of internal conflict, knowledge of Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Reported Actions

In the Sudanese theater, the contractors have been accused of teaching underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. One source remarked that training children was "terrible and insane" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The government said he had a key part in hiring and sending mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who the Treasury stated oversaw a company implicated in handling funds and payroll for the scheme. "Recently, American entities connected to Duque engaged in multiple financial transactions, worth millions," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated said to have conducted wire transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The US once more urges external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the warring parties," the department said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, labeled the sanctions as a "highly important" development, stating that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Bogotá recently passed a statute ratifying the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating rampant mercenarism".

"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," he advised.