OFAC sanctions Iraqi militia commanders, Colombia-based Sudan recruitment network

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control rolled out a two-pronged sanctions action Friday, adding 10 individuals and two entities to the SDN List under counterterrorism and Sudan authorities. The designations target seven Iraqi militia commanders linked to Kata’ib Hizballah, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat al-Nujaba and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, alongside a Colombia-based recruitment network accused of sending former Colombian military personnel to fight for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces.

Treasury said the Iraq measures were aimed at commanders responsible for planning, directing and executing attacks against U.S. personnel, facilities and interests in Iraq. The agency said the targeted groups are Iran-aligned militias that have attacked U.S. and coalition forces, undermined Iraqi sovereignty and financed militant activity. The action was taken under Executive Order 13224, as amended.

The Sudan-related designations focused on three individuals and two companies tied to what Treasury described as a recruitment and deployment pipeline for former Colombian soldiers fighting on behalf of the RSF. Those added on April 17 were Jose Oscar Garcia Batte, Omar Fernando Garcia Batte, Jose Libardo Quijano Torres, Fenix Human Resources S.A.S. and Global Qowa Al Basheria S.A.S.

Treasury framed the Sudan action as part of a broader effort to pressure parties fueling a conflict that entered its third year this month. The department said the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF has killed more than 150,000 people, displaced more than 14 million and worsened famine conditions. It also renewed its call for an immediate three-month humanitarian truce without preconditions.

The move builds on earlier U.S. sanctions against RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa, known as Hemedti, in January 2025 and against recruiter Alvaro Andres Quijano Becerra and related network nodes in December 2025. Treasury said the newly designated firms, including Bogota-based Fenix, were used to replace or support previously sanctioned channels.

As with standard OFAC blocking measures, all property and interests in property of the designated persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked, and U.S. persons are generally barred from dealing with them absent authorization.