The United States has imposed targeted sanctions on a sophisticated transnational network responsible for recruiting Colombian combat veterans to serve as mercenaries alongside Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The Treasury Department’s action specifically identifies four individuals and four entities central to this operation, yet notably omits any direct reference to the United Arab Emirates, despite mounting evidence of its alleged involvement.
According to official statements, this sanctioned network systematically recruited former Colombian military personnel who provided the RSF with critical tactical expertise in infantry operations, artillery, drone piloting, and vehicle operations. Disturbingly, some were implicated in training child soldiers. These mercenaries have reportedly participated in major battles across Sudan, including engagements in Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan, and el-Fasher—where the RSF stands accused of documented mass killings and human rights abuses.
The sanctioned entities include Bogota-based International Services Agency (A4SI), its co-founder Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra (a retired Colombian officer residing in the UAE), and his wife Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero. Additional designations extend to Panama-based Global Staffing S.A., along with Colombian firms Maine Global Corp S.A.S. and Comercializadora San Bendito. Individuals Monica Munoz Ucros and Mateo Andres Duque Botero were also sanctioned.
Leaked documents obtained by Colombian media outlet La Silla Vacia reveal that a UAE-registered company, Global Security Services Group—which identifies as “the only armed private security services provider for the UAE government”—contracted A4SI to supply hundreds of former troops to Sudan. This company remains conspicuously absent from the US sanctions list.
The complex recruitment pipeline funnels Colombian fighters through multiple routes: one via Benghazi, Libya, where passports are reportedly confiscated, and another through Spain, Ethiopia, Somalia’s Bosaso port, and Chad before reaching RSF-controlled territories in Darfur. Exclusive footage obtained by Middle East Eye captures dozens of Colombians disembarking at Bosaso airport, with senior port sources confirming undisclosed heavy logistical materials funneled through UAE networks ultimately destined for Sudan’s RSF.
This development occurs against the backdrop of Sudan’s formal complaint to the UN Security Council accusing the UAE of sponsoring Colombian mercenaries, and the August downing of a UAE aircraft carrying 40 Colombian fighters and arms allegedly destined for the RSF. The UAE consistently denies these allegations, dismissing evidence as fabricated.
The strategic value of Colombian mercenaries in modern warfare cannot be overstated. Decades of internal conflict against guerrillas and drug cartels have produced combat-hardened veterans offering exceptional value—costing approximately a quarter of American counterparts while demonstrating superior discipline and chain-of-command adherence. Their services have been previously utilized in Ukraine, Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Sudan’s devastating conflict erupted in April 2023 from tensions between the regular army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Disagreements over RSF integration into the national army spiraled into nationwide warfare that has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 13 million people, with both sides facing accusations of severe human rights violations.
