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The Washington has enforced penalties on a operation of four individuals and four companies alleged of hiring South American contractors to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group which the US alleges of acts of genocide.

Operation Structure

Revealing the measures on Tuesday, the Treasury stated the operation was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies.

Scores of retired Colombian troops have allegedly journeyed to the Sudanese warzone to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a faction implicated in severe violations encompassing targeted ethnic killings and widespread kidnappings.

Discovery of Participation

The participation of ex-soldiers first came to light the previous year, prompted by an investigation which disclosed that over three hundred former soldiers had been hired to engage in combat – an event that resulted in an unusual statement of regret from Colombia’s foreign ministry.

Colombian ex-soldiers have widely regarded as highly prized fighters in conflict zones due to their extensive battlefield experience resulting from years of internal conflict, training on advanced weaponry, and high-level combat training.

Reported Actions

In the conflict, the contractors have reportedly trained underage fighters, instructed militiamen in drone operation, and engaged in frontline combat. A mercenary previously stated that training children was "horrific and irrational" but commented that "unfortunately that’s how war is".

Sanctioned Individuals

Among those sanctioned was Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and former army officer operating from the Dubai. The Treasury said he had a key part in hiring and sending ex-military personnel to Sudan. His spouse, Claudia Oliveros, was also sanctioned.

Also on the sanctions list was Mateo Andrés Duque Botero, a individual with Colombian and Spanish citizenship who authorities say ran a firm linked to handling funds and payroll for the recruitment operation. "Over the past two years, companies in the United States connected to Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totalling millions of US dollars," the official announcement noted.

Colombian national Mónica Muñoz Ucros was the final person to be targeted, with the company she managed alleged to have financial transactions associated with Duque and his companies.

"The US once more urges outside forces to stop giving monetary and weaponry aid to the warring parties," the agency said in a statement.

Reaction

Elizabeth Dickinson, from a conflict think tank, called the actions as a "major" step, saying that "targeting the enablers is the proper strategy".

Furthermore, Bogotá has enacted a statute approving the anti-mercenary convention, aiming to curb decades of Colombian involvement in overseas wars and transform domestic defense strategy.

Another expert, a scholar on the subject, called for greater wariness, stating that "sanctions are necessary but insufficient for addressing widespread use of contractors".

"This is a shadow economy and based out of the Emirates, which is largely insulated from sanctions," he commented. The Emirati government has been repeatedly implicated of arming the RSF, claims it rejects. "This trend will probably continue," he advised.