The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on five individuals and entities tied to a Colombian recruitment network that has been supplying foreign fighters to Sudan's Rapid Support Forces since 2024. According to latest reports, this action landed on the exact three-year anniversary of the conflict that has killed over 150,000 people and displaced more than 14 million since fighting erupted in April 2023. The sanctions target a pipeline that has reportedly recruited hundreds of former Colombian military personnel, placing them in combat and technical roles including drone operators, snipers, and other specialized positions for the RSF. The recruitment network's operation since 2024 means it has been active for roughly two of the war's three years, representing a meaningful injection of trained manpower into the conflict. Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, the leader of the RSF, was already designated by OFAC on January 7, 2025, making this latest round of sanctions an expansion of existing pressure on the RSF's support infrastructure rather than a new front entirely.
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on eight individuals and entities linked to networks fueling Sudan's civil war, calling on both warring parties to accept an 'immediate, unconditional' three-month humanitarian truce. As reported by Investing.com, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Trump Administration is committed to advancing a lasting peace in Sudan and bringing an end to the conflict. The networks profiting from the conflict in Sudan jeopardize the prospects for the humanitarian truce that the Sudanese people desperately need. The sanctions target networks supporting both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have enabled the conflict to intensify while contributing to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. According to Investing.com, the Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on SBL Energy Limited and other firms based in Sudan and Egypt, expanding the scope of the enforcement action. Today's action was taken pursuant to **Executive Order (E.O.) 14098,
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on Alok Choudhari, the CEO of SBL Energy Limited, a Raipur-based explosives manufacturing firm, for allegedly supplying over 200 shipments of explosives and explosive-related materials to a company that maintained the Sudanese Armed Forces' arsenal. According to reports from Investing.com, Choudhari's company, also known as Amin Explosive Private Limited, allegedly supplied these materials to Target Multiactivities Company Ltd (TMAC), whose explosives were subsequently used in bombs deployed by the SAF. Tariq Hussain Muhammad Madani, the managing director of TMAC, was also blacklisted by the US Treasury Department. The sanctions target the Defense Industries System (DIS), Sudan's largest defense enterprise, which supports and maintains the SAF's arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles and material, often acquired from Iran and other external backers. TMAC and its general manager have been blacklisted by the US Treasury Department. Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons, with OFAC imposing civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis.
The sanctions target the Defense Industries System (DIS), Sudan's largest defense enterprise, which supports and maintains the SAF's arsenal of arms, ammunition, vehicles and material, often acquired from Iran and other external backers. As reported by Investing.com, the Treasury sanctioned Target Multiactivities Company Ltd, a Sudan-based firm controlled by the Defense Industries System through Giad Industrial Group. The company has imported explosives from Egyptian and Indian suppliers, including India-based SBL Energy Limited, which delivered over 200 shipments of explosives since 2024. The US Treasury Department stated that DIS's acquisition of military equipment has enabled the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, conduct attacks against civilians, and reject and obstruct efforts to cease hostilities and achieve a ceasefire. DIS and Giad were previously sanctioned in 2023, with DIS controlling numerous subsidiaries, including the Sudanese conglomerate, Giad Industrial Group (Giad)—also known as Sudan Master Technology—through complex and opaque structures from which DIS has generated billions of dollars. DIS's acquisition of military equipment and related material has enabled the SAF to sustain combat operations against the RSF, conduct attacks against civilians, and reject and obstruct efforts to cease hostilities and achieve a ceasefire.
Ports Engineering Company Ltd, a state-owned civil engineering construction firm established in 1998 and based in Port Sudan, was also designated by OFAC. According to Investing.com, the firm is owned by Sudanese state enterprises including Giad and was sanctioned for importing military uniforms, footwear, ammunition belts, and weapons from companies in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey since April 2023. The sanctions also targeted individuals tied to a transnational network that recruits former Colombian military personnel to fight alongside the RSF, led by retired Colombian officer Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and his wife, Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero. US authorities blacklisted three individuals associated with Panama-based Talent Bridge, SA, a company allegedly used to obscure the recruitment operations, including Panamanian nationals Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla and Jack Peter Derman Guzman, as well as Colombian national Fredy Alejandro Lopez Ocampo. The ongoing violence has also created conditions that allow for terrorist groups to grow, posing threats to the security and interests of the United States.
The United States is implementing second-round sanctions on Sudan pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act (CBW Act), including opposing loans or financial or technical assistance to Sudan from international financial institutions, further export restrictions by the Commerce Department, and a ban on Sudanese state-owned air carriers operating in the United States. Tommy Pigott, spokesperson of the US Department of State, stated that these networks supply weapons, explosives, and foreign fighters to both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, creating the world's worst humanitarian crisis and providing space for terrorist groups to operate. The conflict has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and allowed terrorist groups to expand operations in the region. The United States calls on the SAF and the RSF to accept and implement an immediate, unconditional three-month humanitarian truce, such a truce would allow additional humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, safeguard civilian populations, and create space for further negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire. The United States again calls on external actors to cease all financial and military support to the parties involved in the conflict and urges all partners to press for a comprehensive cessation of hostilities and increased, unhindered humanitarian access.
