| Country: | Colombia |
| Details of Formation: | In 2002, President Alvaro Uribe’s government reached back to a 1993 law allowing the army to recruit part-time conscripts as auxiliary police and soldiers. The main creating institution as the ministry of defense. |
| Details of Termination: | After 2004, there is no evidence that the group continued to exist. They supposedly lost influence over the years and slowly dissolved. If they continued to exist, their link to the government should have stopped in 2010 at latest, as the newly elected president, Santos, distanced himself clearly from all paramilitary activity. |
| Purpose: | Their main purpose was to fight the Marxist guerillas and right-wing paramilitaries. Their relative benefit was that they were cheaper and enjoyed more local support than troops or police. |
| Organisation: | The recruits were paid with money raised by a 1.2% war tax. Members were subject to military regulations but continued to live at home. |
| Weapons and Training: | The group was armed by the Colombian government and recruits received military training. |
| Size: | Original plans numbered the force to around 15,000-20,000 peasant forces. By March 2003, some 5,000 had already begun to work. |
| Reason for Membership: | The government recruited local peasants as soldiers for the program and paid them a small salary of about $17-a-month. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | -- |
| Other Information: | -- |
| References: | Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |