By Dawan Africa - Reporter
United States, 11 December 2025 — The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on a transnational network accused of recruiting former Colombian soldiers — including children — to fight for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group implicated in genocide and mass atrocities.
The action, announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), targets four individuals and four entities said to be fueling the conflict that has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
According to the Treasury, the network—largely made up of Colombian nationals and companies—has been facilitating the arrival of hundreds of ex-Colombian military personnel in Sudan since September 2024.
These recruits have served as infantry, snipers, artillery specialists, drone operators, and military trainers for the RSF, with some reportedly involved in training child soldiers. Their involvement has strengthened the RSF across multiple fronts, including battles in Khartoum, Omdurman, Kordofan, and El Fasher.
Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said the sanctions aim to disrupt the RSF’s foreign recruitment pipeline.
“The RSF has repeatedly targeted civilians — including infants and young children — and continues to deepen Sudan’s conflict,” he said. “Treasury is targeting a network that recruits fighters for the RSF.”
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OFAC identified the alleged ringleader as Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a dual Colombian-Italian national and retired Colombian military officer based in the UAE. Quijano, a former associate of the Norte del Valle cartel, allegedly coordinates the recruitment operations through the Bogotá-based International Services Agency (A4SI), co-founded with his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros. The firm is accused of advertising positions such as drone operators and translators, and serving as the main recruitment hub.
A4SI reportedly works with Global Staffing S.A., a Panama-based company now renamed Talent Bridge, S.A., to obscure financial trails and limit legal exposure.
OFAC says Global Staffing signs contracts and receives funds on behalf of A4SI. Another company, Maine Global Corp, based in Bogotá and managed by dual Colombian-Spanish national Mateo Andres Duque Botero, allegedly manages payroll, currency exchanges, and multimillion-dollar transfers tied to the recruitment effort. San Bendito, managed by Monica Muñoz Ucros, is also accused of assisting the financial operations.
All individuals and entities named have been designated under Executive Order 14098, which targets actors destabilizing Sudan or undermining prospects for a democratic transition. As a result, all property belonging to them within U.S. jurisdiction is frozen, and U.S. persons are barred from conducting transactions with them.
The Treasury emphasized that sanctions are intended not only to punish but to compel behavioral change. The United States reaffirmed its commitment to restoring peace in Sudan and urged external actors to halt all military and financial support to the warring parties.
