South American Mercenaries in Sudan Reportedly Hired by UK-Registered Companies

Tucked away near a gleaming soccer ground of Tottenham Hotspur in the British capital is a plain, nondescript apartment building. Behind its unremarkable beige brickwork exists a dark secret: a cramped second-floor apartment linked to murderous crimes taking place a vast distance to the south.

Per UK government records, this apartment in north London is tied to a transnational network of firms involved in the mass hiring of fighters to fight in Sudan alongside paramilitaries charged of myriad war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

Hundreds of Former Colombian Military Recruited

A large number of former Colombian military personnel have been enlisted to serve with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a armed faction responsible for mass rapes, ethnic slaughter, and the systematic murder of civilians.

These contractors were key participants in the paramilitaries’ capture of the western Sudanese city of El Fasher in late October, which triggered a wave of violence that experts believe has cost at least 60,000 lives.

As reports of violence mount, connections have been identified between the fighters hired to overrun El Fasher and locations in the UK capital.

UK Address Connected to Sanctioned Firm

The flat in Tottenham is listed to a company called Zeuz Global, set up by two people identified and sanctioned last week by the US treasury for hiring contractors to combat for the RSF.

Both figures – Colombian nationals in their 50s – are listed in documents at the UK company registry as resident in the United Kingdom.

The firm is operational. The day after the US treasury announced sanctions on those running the Colombian mercenary operation, Zeuz Global abruptly moved its official location to the centre of London. Its updated address corresponds to a five-star hotel in Covent Garden.

Both hotels said they had no connection to Zeuz Global and had no idea why the firm had listed their addresses.

"It is of serious worry that the key individuals the American authorities claims are directing this fighter recruitment have been able to establish a UK company operating from a apartment in the capital," said an expert, a analyst and former member of a UN panel on Sudan.

Concerns Voiced Over British Firm Oversight

Experts say the situation highlights concerns over how individuals openly censured by the US for "fueling the conflict in Sudan" were able to apparently set up and run a company in the UK capital.

The British foreign secretary has censured the RSF for "organized murder, abuse and assault" following the faction's capture of El Fasher. The RSF has been charged by the US with acts of genocide.

When asked about the company, the registry did not comment on whether it had awareness of the firm’s activities or verify the location of the sanctioned individuals.

Contacting Zeuz was fruitless; its website, created in spring, was labelled as "under construction" with lacking information.

Operation Led by Retired Officer

Per the American authorities, the figure at the heart of the South American recruitment operation for the RSF is a citizen of two countries and former army officer based in the Gulf state.

The US alleges this individual of having a key part in recruiting former Colombian soldiers to be deployed to Sudan using a Colombian recruitment firm. His wife was also sanctioned for owning and managing the agency.

Another dual national was similarly censured for overseeing a business alleged of handling funds and payroll for the network employing the mercenaries.

"During 2024 and 2025, US-based firms linked with this individual engaged in many wire transfers, totalling many millions of US dollars," the US treasury statement said.

Company Registration and Intensifying Conflict

In spring of the current year, the penalized figures registered a company in the UK capital named ODP8 Ltd – later re-branded Zeuz Global.

Three days later, the RSF assaulted the Zamzam displacement camp, slaughtering more than 1,500 civilians. After its capture, the camp was transferred to Colombian mercenaries, who began planning for assaulting El Fasher.

The sanctioned individuals are listed in official UK documents as owning "initial shareholdings" in the company, with one named as a person of "significant control".

The two describe Britain as their "place of residency".

Impact on the Conflict and Broader Concerns

The recruitment of the South Americans has had a profound impact on the course of the conflict, analysts say. These fighters have reportedly instructed minors to be combatants, as well as acting as marksmen, infantrymen, instructors, and pilots for drones.

These drones proved key in the fall of El Fasher and during fighting in surrounding areas.

"The war in Sudan is a technologically advanced one, with precision munitions and long-range drones causing regular civilian deaths," added the expert. "These weapons require outside assistance to operate. We know that the recruitment network has been a major component of this external assistance."

He added that the participation of sanctioned individuals in a London firm underlined wider worries over the absence of strict vetting when firms are established.

"Owning a UK company like this is a passport for criminals to do business with respectable entities. It's still more difficult to join a fitness centre in most cases than to establish a UK company," he stated.

Official Reaction and Continuing Claims

A UK official said that the new rollout of "mandatory identity verification" for corporate officers would provide greater assurance about who was establishing and running UK firms.

The Colombians’ involvement in Sudan first emerged last year, prompting an apology from the South American nation's government.

One of the mercenaries recently admitted that he had trained children in Sudan and seen combat in El Fasher.

The UAE, long accused of arming the RSF, has also been connected to the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries. A investigation alleged that UAE nationals supplying Colombians to the RSF were connected to a senior UAE government official. The UAE has consistently denied these allegations.

A UK official said: "The UK is calling for an halt to violence, the protection of civilians, and the lifting of obstacles to aid delivery."

They added that the UK had also imposed restrictions on RSF leaders for their role in the crimes in El Fasher.