The U.S. Department of the Treasury has sanctioned the Panamanian company Talent Bridge, S.A., for its involvement in a transnational network dedicated to recruiting Colombian citizens to send them to fight in the civil war in Sudan, according to an official document from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The sanctions were imposed on December 9, when the OFAC added the company, formerly known as Global Staffing, S.A., to the so-called Clinton List. This implies the freezing of assets under U.S. jurisdiction and the prohibition of conducting transactions with individuals or entities from that country.
According to part of the report published by a local printed newspaper, Talent Bridge was identified as part of an international structure operating from different countries and targeting the recruitment of former military personnel and Colombian citizens, including minors, to support the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary militia accused by the United Nations and Amnesty International of committing war crimes and human rights violations.
Links with a recruitment agency
The publication details that Talent Bridge maintained direct ties with the International Services Agency (A4SI), an entity created to operate as a front for recruitment. This agency was founded by Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, a Colombian citizen who also appears on the sanctions list.
According to the OFAC, Talent Bridge signed contracts and received funds on behalf of the recruitment network, facilitating the channeling of resources and the formalization of agreements with recruited fighters. The documentation also indicates that the digital platforms of Talent Bridge and A4SI were identical, which reinforces the thesis of a coordinated operation between the two entities.
Executives and corporate structure
The official file indicates that Talent Bridge is controlled by Jack Peter Derman Guzmán, who serves as president, treasurer, and legal representative of the company. The board of directors also includes Enrique Daniel Palacios Quintanilla as secretary and Fredy Alejandro López Ocampo as director.
Claudia Viviana Oliveros Forero, a Colombian citizen, is listed as the subscriber of the company and was included this week in the OFAC sanctions list. This means that all property and interests of the company found in the United States or in the possession of U.S. persons are blocked, and no person or entity in the United States can conduct transactions with the sanctioned company.
The OFAC maintains that these measures aim to dismantle the financing and logistics networks that enable the recruitment and transfer of fighters to areas of armed conflict.
References to Panama
The report indicates that Talent Bridge is a society registered in Panama with Panamanian legal personality, although its activity was carried out as part of an international network.
In a final section, the file references that individuals linked to the sanctioned company are also related to other societies registered in the country, one of which maintains contracts with Panamanian state entities.
Oliveros Forero is the wife of Álvaro Andrés Quijano Becerra, founder of A4SI and considered by the United States to be one of the central figures of the recruitment network. The document specifies that Oliveros Forero previously held positions as president and treasurer of Global Staffing, remaining linked to the company after its name change to Talent Bridge.
Scope of sanctions
With its inclusion in the Clinton List, Talent Bridge is subject to financial and commercial restrictions under U.S. jurisdiction. However, the document does not attribute direct responsibility to Panamanian authorities nor does it point out specific irregularities in these contracts.
No official statement
As of the close of this edition, neither the Ministry of Government nor other Panamanian authorities had issued an official statement regarding the sanctions imposed by the United States or regarding the mentions contained in the OFAC document. There has also been no public reaction from the directors of Talent Bridge to the decision of the Department of the Treasury.
The sanction comes in a context of growing international scrutiny over private military recruitment networks and their participation in armed conflicts, particularly in Africa, where the civil war in Sudan has left thousands of victims and a severe humanitarian impact.
