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The Washington has levied restrictions on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a Sudanese paramilitary group that Washington accuses of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Revealing the sanctions on this week, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction linked to terrible atrocities such as targeted ethnic killings and large-scale abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which found that hundreds of former soldiers had been hired to fight – an revelation that prompted an rare mea culpa from the Colombian government.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their considerable warzone knowledge resulting from years of internal conflict, training on Nato equipment, and superior tactical education.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the contractors have been accused of teaching minors, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that instructing minors was "terrible and insane" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and ex-soldier based in the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a pivotal function in hiring and sending former Colombian soldiers to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was also sanctioned.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged managed a business linked to processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, American entities linked to Duque carried out several money transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the final person to be sanctioned, with the company she managed alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his operations.

"Washington reiterates its demand for external actors to halt the flow of monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.

Analyst Commentary

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, labeled the measures as a "highly important" development, noting that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, the Colombian government ratified a statute endorsing the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and change its security approach.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, urged more caution, saying that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating the growing mercenary trade".

"It’s an illicit economy and based out of the Emirates, which is difficult to penalize," he said. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," McFate warned.