US Imposes Penalties on Operation Alleged of Recruiting South American Fighters to Sudan.
The US government has levied restrictions on a network of several persons and entities charged of recruiting South American contractors to support and educate a militia force in Sudan that Washington accuses of committing genocide.
Group Makeup
Announcing the restrictions on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the network was primarily made up of Colombian nationals and companies.
Numerous of retired Colombian troops have been recruited to go to Sudan to operate with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a group linked to horrific war crimes encompassing ethnically targeted slaughter and mass abductions.
Discovery of Participation
The involvement of Colombian fighters was first uncovered the previous year, prompted by an inquiry which revealed that more than 300 ex-military personnel had been contracted to participate in the war – an event that prompted an rare mea culpa from officials in Bogotá.
Former Colombian military have long been considered as among the world’s most sought-after mercenaries due to their vast combat experience acquired during a long-running domestic war, knowledge of Western military gear, and high-level combat training.
Activities in Sudan
In Sudan, the contractors have reportedly trained minors, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary was quoted as saying that training children was "awful and crazy" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".
Sanctioned Individuals
Among those penalized was a retired Colombian officer, a individual with dual citizenship and ex-soldier operating from the UAE. The government alleged he played a central role in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, was similarly targeted.
Also on the restricted list was Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged ran a firm linked to processing money and salaries for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, US-based firms linked to Duque engaged in 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 said to have conducted wire transfers connected to Duque and his businesses.
"The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the combatants," the Treasury stated.
Analyst Commentary
An expert, with the International Crisis Group, called the actions as a "highly important" development, noting that "calling out those who are doing the contracting is the correct approach".
She added that, the Colombian government ratified a piece of legislation approving the anti-mercenary convention, designed to limit years of participation by its nationals in foreign conflicts and transform national security policy.
A mercenary specialist, a authority on private military contractors, called for greater wariness, noting that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing rampant mercenarism".
"It operates in the black market and based out of the Emirates, which is relatively sanction-proof," he stated. The UAE has been widely accused of providing arms to the militia, an accusation it has denied. "Expect more Colombian mercenaries," McFate warned.
