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The United States has enforced penalties on a network of several persons and entities alleged of hiring former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a armed faction in Sudan which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US Treasury Department stated the network was primarily made up of individuals and businesses from Colombia.

Hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have reportedly travelled to Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a group implicated in terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Emergence of Involvement

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light last year, prompted by an investigation which disclosed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been hired to fight – an revelation that led to an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have long been considered as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, knowledge of advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Role in the Conflict

In Sudan, the mercenaries have been accused of teaching minors, taught fighters to pilot drones, and participated in direct battles. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but noted that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and retired Colombian military officer located in the Dubai. The US authorities said he had a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm accused of managing finances and payments for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque engaged in several money transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be sanctioned, with the firm she operated accused of wire transfers connected to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving funding and arms to the combatants," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, called the measures as a "major" step, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Colombia ratified a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit decades of Colombian involvement in foreign conflicts and change domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "penalties are required yet incomplete for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"It’s an illicit economy and centered in Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The UAE has been repeatedly implicated of supplying weapons to the paramilitary group, allegations it disputes. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.