Also during this time, local citizens and military, often in the guise of civilians, began to

form paramilitary groups. These groups targeted the lower and middle class Ladinos and

indigenous peoples who constituted the groups of moderate reformers-or those who pushed for

causes such as social justice and respect for human rights (Handy 1994)-often using military

terror tactics which included torture and murder (CEH 2002, REHMI 1999). Paramilitary groups

also targeted local figures who were considered troublemakers or who posed some threat to the

status quo.

 Counterinsurgents developed their techniques in the late 1960s and 1970s, refining them

into a stealthy weapon during the eighties and nineties, until they perfected the terrorizing of

communities by leaving bodies in public places as a warning against political organizing or

social opposition. Politically-motivated killings were especially numerous in the Eastern

departments of Jalapa, Zacapa, Izabal, and Chiquimula, and the victims of these crimes were

frequently left "in a conspicuous place as warning or threat-an integral part of the overall

campaign of terror" (Morrison and May 1994:123).

 Several informants described these times as tense and dangerous, claiming that the military

presence created an atmosphere of secrecy and paranoia. Everyone was suspected of being an

oreja (ear or spy) and community members became ever watchful of who they spoke to and what

they said. The military maintained a constant presence by posting themselves in a building in the

center of town next to the municipal complex where they brought people for questioning. Several

of these detainees were reportedly tortured, and, in at least one instance, killed. One informant

described the scenario as follows:

 You could see the soldiers washing the military trucks in the main plaza everyday as if
 there was nothing better to do. But yet in the morning the trucks would appear dirty and
 full of mud as if the soldiers had spent the night very busy. Though some say it was a
 peaceful time and the area was safe from delinquency, but people disappeared and bodies