| Country: | Guatemala |
| Details of Formation: | The Civil Defence Patrols were first organized by the army in the late 1980, in the context of the Guatemalan civil war (Bateson 2017). First formed under President Fernando Romeo Lucas Garcia, they were then officially created by decree by General Rios Montt on 1 August 1982 (Wikipedia), which turned them into Civilian Defence Patrols (semi-official). |
| Details of Termination: | The PGM was interrupted between the formal formation (1982-08-01) and the signing of the peace treaty on 29 December 1996 which officially demobilized the Civilian Defence Patrols (Wikipedia). During that time, the PGM is coded as a separate PGM called "Civilian Defence Patrols (semi-official)". After the peace treaty, a news source reports that most, though not all, patrols dissolved. However, ex-patrollers remain organized and active, continuing the patrols, partly because they and the civilian population were socialized to see a necessity in the patrol’s existence (Bateson 2017). Even after their official demobilization, patrols maintained their close relationship with the military (Wikipedia) and the Guatemalan state even cedes control to the patrols (Bateson 2017). |
| Purpose: | A news source mentions that the informal patrols (after their official demobilization and change in status from semi-official to informal PGM) served mainly as hit squads committing political murders ordered by the military. |
| Organisation: | At the beginning, patrols were only loosely organized, with limited contact to military officers and no senior patrollers (Bateson 2017) |
| Weapons and Training: | An April 1982 estimate by the US Embassy suggests that the government was capable of arming 5,000 patrollers (Bateson 2017). When they started patrolling, members had sticks, slingshots, flintlock rifles or M-1’s. |
| Size: | When the informal Civilian Defence Patrols turned semi-official in August 1982, the group had around 25,000 members. It is unclear how many members continued after the official demobilization. |
| Reason for Membership: | It is unclear why members joined the informal PGM in the early 1980s and whether coercion played a role. After the official demobilization, patrolling continued because some leaders had personal incentives, and institutions and norms had changed during wartime. Local residents’ support for the continuation of patrols and the need for an effective force to combat crime have also played a role in continued membership (Bateson 2017). Forced membership sometimes continued after demobilization (Wikipedia). A news source reports that some patrols received a compensation for wartime service in 2003 and remain mobilized in hope of financial compensation for their (former and continued) service. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The patrols continued their bad treatment of civilians even after their official demobilization, especially killings, though at least once they also raped women and tortured a man (Wikipedia). The Guatemalan state continued to ignore the patrols or enable them to do so by ceding them control over entire municipalities (Bateson 2017). A news source reports that the military sometimes orders them to commit political murders. |
| Other Information: | The Civil Defence Patrols are also known by their Spanish name “patrullas de autodefensa civil” (PAC). They can be classified as “civil defense force” and are sedentary, defensive and state-aligned (Bateson 2017). The postwar equivalents of the Patrols are also known as Community Security Committees (Wikipedia). The later informal group had no ethnic dimension to its target selection (Bateson 2017). It is unclear if the group had ethnic targets before 1982. The same applies to ethnic purpose. |
| References: |
Bateson, Regina. 2017. “The socialization of civilians and militia members: Evidence from Guatemala.” Journal of Peace Research 54(5): 634-647 Wikipedia. “Civil Defense Patrols”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Civil_Defense_Patrols&oldid=989600141 |