Muerte a Secuestradores

In 1981, members of the Medellin Cartel, including Pablo Escobar and Carlos Ledher Rivas, established Muerte a Secuestradores (MAS), or in English, Death to Kidnappers. MAS started as a private army with 2,230 fighters, allied with the Colombian military to combat leftist guerrillas including the M-19, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the Popular Liberation Army (EPL). MAS grew to include many small paramilitary groups and became the blanket title for private armies that opposed leftist guerrilla groups. In the late 1980s, MAS assassinated hundreds of Union Patriotica members, members of a political party sponsored by the FARC, and many April 19 Movement Democratic Alliance (AD M-19) party members, a party created by M-19 members after its demobilization. By the mid 1990s, MAS weakened in strength and numbers, and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia took MAS’ place as the largest paramilitary group in Colombia.