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The Washington has enforced penalties on a group of four people and four firms alleged of recruiting former Colombian soldiers to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian citizens and firms.

Numerous of former Colombian military personnel have allegedly journeyed to the conflict in Sudan to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in terrible atrocities encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers was first uncovered last year, prompted by an report which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an discovery that resulted in an unprecedented apology from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Former Colombian military have historically been seen as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their considerable warzone knowledge gleaned from decades of civil war, familiarity with Nato equipment, and elite military instruction.

Activities in Sudan

In the conflict, the Colombians have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and participated in direct battles. One source previously stated that instructing minors was "awful and crazy" but commented that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Targeted Persons

Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The US authorities accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say managed a business linked to handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, worth millions," the official announcement stated.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz was the fourth individual to be penalized, with the firm she operated said to have conducted financial transactions connected to Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

It was also noted that, Colombia has enacted a statute approving the International Convention Against the Recruitment and Use of Mercenaries, seeking to reduce its citizens' long history in overseas wars and change domestic defense strategy.

A mercenary specialist, a scholar on the subject, advised additional measures, noting that "restrictions are needed but not enough for addressing the growing mercenary trade".

"This is a shadow economy and centered in the UAE, which is difficult to penalize," he stated. The Emirati government has been frequently alleged of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," the expert cautioned.