The United States imposed sanctions on a transnational network that recruits former Colombian soldiers, including children, to fight with paramilitaries in the civil war in Sudan.

The conflict in the African country, which erupted in April 2023, pits the Sudanese army against the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR). It has caused thousands of deaths and displaced millions of people, plunging the country into the world's "worst humanitarian crisis," according to the UN. The sanctions were imposed on four individuals and four entities, targeting a transnational network that "recruits Colombian ex-military personnel and trains soldiers, including children," to fight for the FAR, according to a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department. "The civil war in Sudan risks destabilizing the region." One of those sanctioned is Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, a retired Colombian military officer residing in the United Arab Emirates. Washington accuses him of playing "a central role in the recruitment and deployment of Colombian ex-military personnel in Sudan." Similarly, an employment agency co-founded by Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Oliveros Forero, who has been involved in its management, was also sanctioned. Also included is the Bogota-based corporation Maine Global and its director, Mateo Duque Botero. These sanctions prohibit entry into the United States, freeze assets under U.S. jurisdiction, and prohibit financial or material support. “The civil war in Sudan risks destabilizing the region and turning Sudan into a safe haven for those who threaten the United States,” the Treasury Department stated. In January, the State Department denounced that members of the FAR had committed genocide.