The Civil Defense Patrols (Spanish: Patrullas de Autodefensa Civil, PAC) were local militias created by the government of Guatemala during the Guatemalan Civil War. They were created by decree of General Ríos Montt on 1 August 1982, though they began before that under President Fernando Romeo Lucas García. Officially, participation was voluntary, but many were forced to join. The patrols officially stopped 29 December 1996 under the terms of the peace treaty that ended the war, though some of the network remained and was used by former members demanding compensation for their involvement. Estimates vary, but statistics generally state that around 1,000,000 people were members of the patrols at the height of the war in 1983. The members tortured and killed other villagers, sometimes at the