# US Treasury sanctions Colombian mercenary recruitment networks deploying hundreds of fighters to Sudan's civil war > OFAC designated 8 individuals and entities on both the RSF and SAF procurement sides, including a Colombian retired officer and his wife running firms that sent former Colombian soldiers to Sudan as combatants and technical advisers **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-04 · heads: 그들이 말하지 않는 것, 누구의 돈인가 · 9 takes · 3 lenses · 6 regions ## Summary The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated eight individuals and entities on July 4 under Sudan sanctions authorities, targeting procurement and mercenary recruitment networks serving both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The primary Colombian network is led by retired officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero through front firms including International Services Agency A4SI, Fénix Human Resources, and Talent Bridge; these entities recruited and deployed hundreds of former Colombian soldiers to Sudan in combat and advisory roles. Also sanctioned is Target Multiactivities Company Ltd. (TMAC), which procures explosives from India-based SBL Energy Limited for delivery to Sudan. Treasury stated the networks have expanded the scale and intensity of a conflict that has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced 14 million. ## The split The US framing treats the sanctions as a bilateral counter-proliferation measure targeting extra-legal military markets, and notably designated networks on BOTH sides of the Sudan war, signalling at least formal neutrality. Colombian media are absent from initial coverage, pointing to the embarrassment of former Colombian soldiers appearing in an African civil war in violation of their post-service obligations. The RSF's external backers, principally the UAE and Russia, are not named in this action; the Amnesty International El Fasher report published the same week explicitly identifies RSF atrocities as rising to genocide, creating pressure on actors who have resisted that framing. ## By the numbers - 8, individuals and entities designated by OFAC on July 4 - 150,000+, deaths attributed to the Sudan civil war since April 2023 - 14 million, people displaced, the world's largest displacement crisis - Hundreds, the number of former Colombian soldiers deployed to Sudan via the sanctioned networks - 60%, enrichment level at which Iran's uranium stockpile stands (parallel IAEA dispute in the same week as context for how sanctions pressure is applied in separate conflicts) ## Why it matters The Colombian mercenary dimension is not unique to Sudan: Latin American former soldiers, especially from Colombia, have appeared in Libya, Ukraine, and the Yemen theatre. The pattern exposes a gap in post-service military regulation across middle-income countries whose veteran cohorts have combat experience that external conflict parties are willing to pay for. Sanctioning the recruitment firms, rather than individual fighters, aims to raise the cost of the pipeline. The simultaneous designation of networks serving both the RSF and SAF signals the US views both parties as adversaries, closing the diplomatic space for a US-mediated settlement while keeping maximum pressure on the war economy. ## What to watch - Whether Colombia's government acts against the named firms under Colombian law, or whether OFAC designations create US-market compliance pressure without domestic enforcement. - Whether the UAE or Russia appear in subsequent OFAC Sudan designations, given their respective RSF and SAF relationships. - UN Security Council consideration of a formal arms embargo, which has been proposed but blocked by Russia and China in prior sessions. - The El Fasher humanitarian situation: the city fell to the RSF in 2025-26, and the Amnesty findings increase pressure for international criminal accountability proceedings. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### unlabelled - **US Department of the Treasury (OFAC)** (United States, en) — OFAC press release sb0544 designating eight individuals and entities under Sudan sanctions authorities; the primary document names Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, International Services Agency A4SI, Fénix Human Resources, Talent Bridge, and Indian-based SBL Energy Limited and its Sudanese procurement arm Target Multiactivities Company Ltd. (TMAC). Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0544 - **Reuters** (United Kingdom, en) — Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ - **Al Jazeera Arabic** (Qatar, ar) — Source: https://www.aljazeera.net/news/politics/2026/7/4/ - **The Sudan Tribune** (France, en) — Source: https://sudantribune.com - **Radio Dabanga** (Netherlands, en) — Source: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/ - **BBC Arabic** (United Kingdom, ar) — Source: https://www.bbc.com/arabic - **AFP** (France, en) — Source: https://www.afp.com ### East African independent press - **Eastleigh Voice (Kenya)** (Kenya, en) — Eastleigh Voice, a Nairobi-based outlet with extensive Sudan coverage, reported on the OFAC action with emphasis on the Colombian component, noting that the deployment of Latin American mercenaries mirrors similar patterns in Libya, Venezuela, and Ukraine, and raises broader questions about the regulation of retired military personnel in conflict-for-hire markets. > "US sanctions Sudan defence networks aiding warring SAF and RSF factions , Colombian recruiters named." Source: https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/news/372884/us-sanctions-sudan-defence-networks-aiding-warring-saf-and-rsf-factions ### International human rights - **Amnesty International** (United Kingdom, en) — Amnesty International's July 2026 report, released in the same week as the OFAC sanctions, documented RSF crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during the siege of El Fasher in North Darfur, providing the context of the ground campaign that the mercenary and procurement networks have directly supported; the report described the atrocities as 'a stain on the conscience of humanity.' > "RSF committed ethnic cleansing in El Fasher , Amnesty report released July 2026." Source: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/07/sudan-rsf-atrocities-in-el-fasher-a-stain-on-the-conscience-of-humanity-new-report/ ## Across the graph - Related: [[fao-wfp-hunger-hotspots-june2026]], [[sudan-el-obeid-rsf-assault-2026]] - Entities: Sudan, Rsf, Colombia, United States --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ko/n/sudan-ofac-colombian-mercenaries-jul4