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The US government has imposed sanctions on a group of several persons and entities alleged of hiring South American contractors to combat alongside and instruct a Sudanese paramilitary group the United States claims of committing genocide.

Operation Structure

Disclosing the sanctions on this week, the US Treasury Department stated the operation was primarily made up of Colombian citizens and firms.

Hundreds of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to Sudan to operate with the RSF paramilitary group, a faction accused of terrible atrocities including massacres based on ethnicity and mass abductions.

Revelation of Role

The participation of ex-soldiers initially emerged the previous year, following an inquiry which revealed that over three hundred ex-military personnel had been contracted to fight – an revelation that prompted an unprecedented apology from the Colombian government.

Former Colombian military have long been considered as some of the most in-demand contractors globally due to their extensive battlefield experience gleaned from years of internal conflict, familiarity with Western military gear, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In Sudan, the contractors have reportedly trained underage fighters, provided drone warfare training, and engaged in frontline combat. One source remarked that training children was "horrific and irrational" but added that "sadly, that is the nature of conflict".

Targeted Persons

Among those targeted was a dual national, a citizen of both Colombia and Italy and retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates. The government accused him a central role in recruiting and deploying mercenaries to Sudan. His wife, Claudia Oliveros, was penalized as well.

Also on the penalty list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a dual national who officials alleged oversaw a company linked to processing money and salaries for the network. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque carried out numerous wire transfers, amounting to millions," the Treasury statement noted.

Individual Mónica Muñoz was the other individual to be targeted, with the entity she oversaw said to have conducted money transfers associated with Duque and his businesses.

"The United States again calls on outside forces to stop giving financial and military support to the belligerents," the agency said in a statement.

Expert Analysis

A senior analyst, with the International Crisis Group, labeled the sanctions as a "very significant" development, saying that "targeting the enablers is the correct approach".

Furthermore, Colombia has enacted a statute approving the global treaty against mercenarism, seeking to reduce decades of Colombian involvement in international fights and change domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a authority on private military contractors, advised additional measures, stating that "restrictions are needed but not enough for combating widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and operating from Dubai, which is difficult to penalize," he commented. The United Arab Emirates has been widely accused of arming the RSF, allegations it disputes. "More contractors from Colombia are likely," McFate warned.