Gerrit Kurtz (@gerritkurtz.bsky.social)

Treasury Sanctions Transnational Network Recruiting Colombians to Fight in Sudan’s Civil War WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on four individuals and four entities for their roles in fueling the civil war in Sudan, a conflict that has provoked the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crisis. This transnational network—primarily composed of Colombian nationals and companies—recruits former Colombian military personnel and trains soldiers, including children, to fight for the Sudanese paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). “Treasury is targeting a network that recruits fighters for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF),” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley. “The RSF has shown again and again that it is willing to target civilians—including infants and young children. Its brutality has deepened the conflict and destabilized the region, creating the conditions for terrorist groups to grow.”Since the beginning of the conflict in April 2023, the RSF and its allied militias have repeatedly targeted civilians, systematically killing men and boys—even infants—and deliberately assaulting women and girls through rape and other forms of sexual violence. The RSF and its affiliates have also attacked civilians and prevented them from accessing lifesaving humanitarian assistance. Despite recent attempts to downplay its misdeeds, the RSF continues to perpetrate these atrocities, most recently in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. Supported by Colombian fighters, the RSF captured El Fasher on October 26, 2025, after an 18-month siege, and subsequently engaged in mass killings of civilians, ethnically targeted torture, and sexual violence. On January 7, 2025, the Department of State announced its determination that members of the RSF committed genocide. The civil war in Sudan risks destabilizing the region and making the country a safe haven for those who threaten the United States. The United States remains committed to the principles outlined in the September 12, 2025, Joint Statement on Restoring Peace and Security in Sudan, which calls for a three-month humanitarian truce followed by a permanent ceasefire and a transparent transition process leading to an independent, civilian-led government. The United States again calls on external actors to cease providing financial and military support to the belligerents.OFAC’s investigation of the individuals and entities designated today was carried out in partnership with the United States Customs and Border Protection, National Targeting Center.A COLOMBIAN-LED TRANSNATIONAL NETWORK Since September 2024, hundreds of former Colombian military personnel have traveled to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF. These Colombians provide the RSF with tactical and technical expertise, serving as infantry and artillerymen, drone pilots, vehicle operators, and instructors, with some even training children to fight in the RSF. The Colombian fighters have participated in numerous battles across Sudan, including in its capital, Khartoum, as well as Omdurman, Kordofan, and El Fasher. The presence of Colombian fighters in Sudan would not be possible without the assistance of numerous individuals and companies, mostly from Colombia. Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra (Quijano), a dual Colombian-Italian national, is a retired Colombian military officer based in the United Arab Emirates who plays a central role in recruiting and deploying former Colombian military personnel to Sudan. Quijano, a former associate of the Colombia-based Notre del Valle Cartel, is supported by a network of associates and companies that specializes in recruiting fighters and facilitating the movement of funds related to their deployment. In Colombia, Bogota-based International Services Agency (A4SI), an employment agency that Quijano co-founded, is the main recruiting node, having engaged in campaigns via its website, group chats, and townhalls to fill positions, including drone operators, snipers, and translators. Quijano’s wife, Colombian national Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero (Oliveros), is A4SI’s owner and manager. A4SI relies on Panama-based Global Staffing S.A. (Global Staffing), now Talent Bridge, S.A., to minimize A4SI’s legal exposure and obfuscate the links between A4SI and the company hiring the Colombian fighters. Specifically, Global Staffing signs contracts and receives funds on A4SI’s behalf. However, Global Staffing’s links to A4SI run deeper. Not only is Global Staffing’s website identical to that of A4SI, but Oliveros, A4SI’s owner and manager, was until recently Global Staffing’s president and treasurer, and is still affiliated with it as a company subscriber.Maine Global Corp S.A.S. (Maine Global Corp) is a Bogota, Colombia-based employment agency managed by dual Colombian-Spanish national Mateo Andres Duque Botero (Duque), who serves as the shareholder, president, director or manager of firms in Colombia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Maine Global Corp manages and disburses funds for Global Staffing and the company that hired the Colombians, with the support of U.S.-based firms associated with Duque. This includes processing payroll payments for the Colombian fighters and serving as a foreign exchange intermediary, converting euros and Colombian pesos to U.S. dollars. In 2024 and 2025, U.S.-based firms associated with Duque engaged in numerous wire transfers, totaling millions of U.S. dollars, with Maine Global Corp, Global Staffing, and the company hiring the Colombian fighters. Colombian national Monica Muñoz Ucros, is Maine Global Corp’s alternate manager and the manager of Bogota, Colombia-based Comercializadora San Bendito (San Bendito), which engaged in wire transfers with a U.S. company associated with Duque and directly with Duque. Quijano and A4SI are each being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14098, “Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons Destabilizing Sudan and Undermining the Goal of a Democratic Transition,” for being a foreign person who is responsible for, or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan. Oliveros is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14098 for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of A4SI, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14098 relating to the tenure of such leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors.Global Staffing is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14098 for being a foreign person who is owned or controlled by, or has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, A4SI, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14098.Maine Global Corp is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14098 for is a foreign person who has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Global Staffing, an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14098.Duque and Munoz are each being designated pursuant to E.O. 14098 for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of Maine Global Corp, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14098 relating to the tenure of such leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors.San Bendito is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14098 for being a foreign person who is owned or controlled by, or has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Munoz, a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14098.SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONSAs a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons. Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis. OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions. In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or otherwise blocked persons. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, or to submit a request, please refer to OFAC’s guidance on Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List.Click here for more information on the persons designated today.### https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0330