ALBAWABA- The U.S. Treasury has imposed sweeping sanctions on a Colombian-led recruitment network accused of supplying foreign mercenaries and training child soldiers for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), intensifying pressure on outside actors fueling a war that has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced 10 million.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said Monday that four individuals and four entities were designated for orchestrating a transnational scheme that has funneled over 200 former Colombian soldiers into Sudan since September 2024.
The network was led by dual Colombian-Italian national Alvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a retired military officer with reported ties to the Norte del Valle Cartel. According to OFAC, his fighters have served as infantry, drone operators, snipers, and instructors in battles across Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan, and El-Fasher, where RSF forces seized the Darfur capital in October after an 18-month siege.
Sanctioned firms include Bogotá’s International Services Agency (A4SI), Panama-registered Global Staffing S.A. (now Talent Bridge, S.A.), Maine Global Corp S.A.S., and Comercializadora San Bendito.
U.S. officials say these companies handled recruitment, contracting, payroll, and wire transfers tied to U.S. financial channels, while also participating in the training of Sudanese children for combat.
Treasury Under Secretary John K. Hurley condemned the RSF’s “systematic brutality,” citing mass killings, ethnic torture, sexual violence against women and girls, and deliberate starvation tactics, including aid blockades that have trapped infants.
Those abuses led to a January U.S. genocide determination against the RSF. The sanctions freeze U.S.-linked assets and prohibit Americans from conducting business with the designated individuals and entities.
The move comes as Washington pushes for a three-month humanitarian truce and renewed efforts toward a civilian-led transition. The conflict, which erupted in April 2023 between the RSF, born from the Janjaweed militias, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has unleashed famine across Darfur and threatens to destabilize the wider region, creating openings for extremist groups.
The sanctions also sharpen focus on the alleged role of foreign backers. The United Arab Emirates faces growing scrutiny for reportedly supplying weapons, financing, and logistical support to the RSF.
Evidence gathered by human rights groups and leaked UN reports points to UAE-facilitated transfers of Chinese-made guided bombs and howitzers from Norinco routed through Chad, Libya, and Uganda.
A UN panel deemed the allegations “credible,” while Amnesty International documented arms flows in May 2025. UAE-operated bases in Nyala and al-Malha have allegedly aided RSF operations, including the October 2025 assault on El-Fasher that triggered mass killings and renewed displacement.
