GNV News — October 1, 2025

On August 6, 2025, in Sudan, where conflict continues between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudan state television reported that the Sudanese army destroyed a United Arab Emirates (UAE) aircraft transporting Colombian mercenaries. The UAE has long been reported to support the RSF in Sudan, and as part of that, it has reportedly hired Colombian veterans and others as mercenaries to serve as trainers and frontline soldiers. The UAE has denied this report.

In the private military industry, former combatants who once belonged to anti-government forces and militias in Colombia, as well as retired members of the Colombian military, are valued as mercenaries with extensive combat experience. In particular, retired Colombian soldiers have accumulated experience through years of confrontation with insurgent and drug-trafficking organizations, and many have received U.S. training, so they are regarded as highly capable mercenaries. And their wages are far lower than those of retired U.S. soldiers. For these reasons, Colombian mercenaries are considered convenient for governments such as the UAE that wish to exert influence while avoiding direct involvement in conflicts.

In practice, Colombian mercenaries are said to have been involved not only in Sudan but also in the conflicts in Yemen and Ukraine, and even in the assassination of a president in Haiti. Some become mercenaries due to inadequate pensions after retirement and a scarcity of jobs, while many are recruited with misleading information—such as being told they will guard oil facilities—and are then sent to battlefields and training sites in conflict zones in large numbers. It has also been pointed out that even if they try to return home, some are forced to remain because their passports are confiscated en route, or they are charged penalties or the cost of travel for repatriation.

The use of these foreign mercenaries complicates conflicts and makes their resolution more difficult. The Colombian government views this situation as a problem and is moving forward with legislation to ban its veterans from participating in foreign conflicts, but fundamental issues such as insufficient reintegration support and lack of employment after retirement remain unresolved, and it is unclear whether this trend can be curbed.

Learn more about the conflict in Sudan → “The Outlook for the Sudan Conflict”

Learn more about Colombia’s history and conflicts → “Is Colombia’s Peace in Jeopardy?”

Learn more about private military companies → “The Privatization of War? The Rise of Private Military Companies”

A Colombian Marine training at a U.S. military school (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist R.J. Stratchko/Released / Wikimedia Commons [public domain])