CONVIVIR

CONVIVIR (Cooperativas para la Vigilancia y la Seguridad Privada; its namesake “convivir” meaning "living in harmony" in Spanish) were rural neighborhood watch associations in Colombia created by the government in 1993 and officially abolished in 1999 after controversies over links to paramilitary groups. They were a reaction to the activities of guerilla movements in rural areas. The national CONVIVIR program was created in 1994 through Decree 356 under president César Gaviria. They have been compared to rondas campesinas in Peru and Civil Defense Patrols in Guatemala.