US sanctions Colombians involved in Sudan war but fails to mention UAE link

The US has sanctioned a number of individuals and entities involved in recruiting Colombian mercenaries to fight alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, but did not mention widely reported UAE involvement in the supply of these fighters. 

On Tuesday, the US Treasury said it was sanctioning four individuals and four entities which formed part of a “transnational network” involved in recruiting former Colombian military personnel. 

It said that these Colombians had provided the RSF with “tactical and technical expertise, serving as infantry and artillerymen, drone pilots, vehicle operators, and instructors, with some even training children”. 

The fighters have participated in several battles in Sudan, it added, including in Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan and el-Fasher. 

In October, the RSF carried out mass killings and abuses as it stormed el-Fasher, some of which were documented by its own fighters and have been corroborated by satellite imagery. 

“The presence of Colombian fighters in Sudan would not be possible without the assistance of numerous individuals and companies, mostly from Colombia,” the Treasury said. 

Bogota-based employment firm International Services Agency (A4SI) was sanctioned, as well as its co-founder Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, a retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. 

Quijano's wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, the owner and manager of A4SI, was also sanctioned. 

According to leaked documents obtained by La Silla Vacia, a Colombian media outlet, a UAE-registered company contracted A4SI to supply hundreds of former troops to work in Sudan. 

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That Emirati company, Global Security Services Group, describes itself as “the only armed private security services provider for the UAE government”. There is no mention of it in the US sanctions. 

A report by investigative organisation The Sentry last month revealed that Emirati businessmen supplying Colombian mercenaries were connected to senior UAE government officials. 

The other sanctioned entities are Panama-based Global Staffing S.A., and Colombia-based firms Maine Global Corp S.A.S. and Comercializadora San Bendito.

Colombian national Monica Munoz Ucros and dual Colombian-Spanish national Mateo Andres Duque Botero were also sanctioned. 

“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported,” the Treasury said. 

In September, Sudan made a formal complaint to the UN Security Council accusing the UAE of sponsoring Colombian mercenaries to fight with the RSF. 

Sudan’s representative to the UN said that Khartoum had gathered documents allegedly recovered from captured fighters which found that mercenaries had been recruited by two private security companies in the UAE. 

The UAE denies the allegations and said the evidence was “fabricated”. 

On 7 August, the Sudanese air force shot down an aircraft reportedly belonging to the UAE that was carrying 40 Colombian mercenaries, as well as a shipment of arms and equipment allegedly destined for use by the RSF. 

The mercenaries on board were reportedly all killed. The UAE denied any involvement. 

Combat-hardened veterans 

Colombian mercenaries have become highly sought-after in modern irregular warfare. 

The decades-long conflict against guerrillas and drug cartels within the country have created a steady supply of combat-hardened veterans.

“Colombians are excellent value, they have a lot of combat experience and they're very good warriors. They obey chains of command, have good discipline, and cost a quarter of what an American mercenary would cost,” Sean McFate, professor at the National Defence University in Washington DC, told Middle East Eye. 

Hundreds of Colombians are fighting in Ukraine, while others served in Libya’s 2011 civil war, as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

When it comes to the Sudan war, according to La Silla Vacia, Colombian fighters are taking two routes. 

One is via Benghazi in northern Libya, where Libyan contractors have reportedly confiscated their passports and prevented their return until they completed the journey to join the RSF in Sudan.

The other route involves travelling from Spain to Ethiopia, then heading to the Somali port city of Bosaso before flying to Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, and finally landing in Nyala, an RSF-controlled city in Darfur.

In October, MEE obtained exclusive footage showing dozens of Colombians disembarking from an aircraft at Bosaso airport in Somalia and heading towards a camp nearby housing Colombian mercenaries. 

The report also detailed the use of Bosaso for the transportation of “undisclosed heavy logistical materials”, which senior sources at the port told MEE were being funnelled by the UAE and were ultimately destined for Sudan’s RSF. 

Days after the report, Somalia’s defence minister acknowledged that such flights were taking place. The minister added that the government had received reports, which it was unable to confirm, of Colombian mercenaries being flown from Bosaso. 

Middle East Eye reported in January 2024 that the UAE was supplying the RSF with weapons through a complex network of supply lines and alliances stretching across Libya, Chad and Uganda. Despite mounting evidence, Abu Dhabi denies supporting the paramilitary group. 

Sudan's war began in April 2023, when long-simmering tensions between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, spiralled into open conflict.

The violence was triggered by disagreements over plans to integrate the RSF into the regular army, but quickly descended into a nationwide war that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 13 million.

Since the war began, RSF fighters have been accused of widespread massacres and abuses, including a genocide in Darfur. The Sudanese army has also been accused of war crimes.