The Colombian Mercenary Connection: AFP Probe Uncovers Global Recruitment Network Fueling Sudan’s Civil War

A major investigative report by AFP has exposed the involvement of hundreds of former Colombian soldiers fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. The investigation traces a sophisticated logistics chain stretching from South America to the UAE and onward to the battlefields of Darfur, where mercenaries are lured by high salaries ranging from $2,500 to $4,000 per month.

Recruitment Routes: WhatsApp Traps and Foreign Bases The recruitment began through WhatsApp advertisements for "private security jobs." After being transported to the UAE for brief training, the mercenaries were funneled into Sudan via two main routes: eastern Libya (controlled by Khalifa Haftar) and the Bossaso airbase in Somalia. U.S. intelligence suggests that Colombian expertise in drones and heavy artillery played a decisive role in the RSF’s recent strategic gains in El Fasher.

The Quijano Network and U.S. Sanctions Central to this operation is retired Colonel Álvaro Quijano and his agency, A4SI, which reportedly aimed to recruit up to 2,500 fighters. In December, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Quijano for managing this transnational network, which allegedly trained minors alongside former military personnel. While the UAE has dismissed these allegations as "false and undocumented," satellite imagery and flight tracking data link logistical activity to the RSF’s supply lines.

A Deadly Deception Many Colombian recruits met a grim end in desert ambushes, with their bodies often left behind in Sudan. While the Colombian Parliament recently passed a law criminalizing mercenary recruitment, the legislation arrived too late for dozens who died in a conflict thousands of miles from home. The war in Sudan continues to be a magnet for foreign combatants as regional interests intensify.