 By 1983, Colombian internal affairs had registered 240 political killings by MAS death squads, mostly community leaders, elected officials, and farmers.The following year, the "Asociación Campesina de Ganaderos y Agricultores del Magdalena Medio" ("Association of Middle Magdalena Ranchers and Farmers", ACDEGAM) was created to handle both the logistics and the public relations of the organization, and to provide a legal front for various paramilitary groups.ACDEGAM worked to promote anti-labor policies, and threatened anyone involved with organizing for labor or peasants' rights.