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The US government has enforced penalties on a network of four individuals and four companies charged of recruiting South American contractors to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of genocidal acts.

Network Composition

Disclosing the sanctions on Tuesday, the American treasury stated the scheme was mostly comprised of Colombian nationals and companies.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have reportedly travelled to the conflict in Sudan to combat beside the Sudanese RSF militia, a force linked to terrible atrocities encompassing massacres based on ethnicity and large-scale abductions.

Discovery of Participation

The role of these mercenaries was first uncovered the previous year, after an report which disclosed that hundreds of retired troops had been contracted to participate in the war – an discovery that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have widely regarded as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, familiarity with Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the mercenaries have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. An individual involved was quoted as saying that working with child soldiers was "horrific and irrational" but added that "regrettably, war operates that way".

Named Entities

Among those penalized was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The Treasury alleged he played a key part in enlisting and transporting mercenaries to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who officials alleged managed a business implicated in managing finances and payments for the scheme. "Over the past two years, American entities associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the government release said.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be penalized, with the company she managed said to have conducted wire transfers linked to Duque and his companies.

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

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "very significant" milestone, stating that "identifying the recruiters is the right way to go".

Furthermore, the Colombian government recently passed a piece of legislation endorsing the anti-mercenary convention, seeking to reduce years of participation by its nationals in international fights and change national security policy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for combating widespread use of contractors".

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