South American Mercenaries, Emirati Cash: Who Cares About Darfur?
The story of desperate Colombian vets fighting someone else's war in Darfur, bankrolled by the UAE, is heartbreaking. Al-Monitor frames it as a 'network of profit and silence,' tracing the 'Andes to Darfur.' Yet, it glosses over the uncomfortable truth: the funding nations' strategic objectives. The UAE, a key regional player, consistently bankrolls various proxy conflicts, often in alignment with
US interests, purchasing advanced weaponry from the US while lobbying heavily in Washington. We're meant to lament the plight of the mercenaries, not question the foreign policy decisions that create the demand for them. One might wonder why the narrative focuses so intently on the desperate soldiers and not the persistent Gulf state involvement in Africa's resource-rich regions, often with tacit
Western approval. It’s almost as if some profiteers are more palatable than others, provided they keep the 'silence' intact.