Pro-Government Militias
Gladio P26 (Switzerland)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 425 |
| Country: | Switzerland |
| Date formed: | Jan. 1, 1951 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | decade |
| Details of Formation: | The Swiss organization was referred to as P26 (“Projekt 26”). It was established by military officials outside political control and linked to the Ministry of Defence. Sources refer to early 1950s as the date of the group’s creation. |
| Date dissolved: | Nov. 14, 1990 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | The Swiss government dissolved the group on 14 November 1990. |
| Termination Type(s): | none |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no information |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | unclear (type 1 or 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; Foreign government |
| State Sponsor(s): | United States; United Kingdom |
| Other Connection(s): | NATO |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | no information |
| Primary Membership: | no information |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | None |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, 400] |
| Target(s): | rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; foreign military |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious institutions; protect national borders and integrity; self-defense and security |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The group’s existence emerged in November 1990 as a result of the work of a parliamentary commission. The network of Gladio groups may have some semi-official status within the intelligence community. But this status is not recognized but hidden even from some domestic governments and prime ministers. The groups were ultimately answerable to NATO-CIA rather than domestic governments in event of attack by Warsaw Pact. The group was supposed to target domestic subversion. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The stay-behind paramilitary group was intended as a fighting force to counter a possible Warsaw Pact invasion and domestic subversion. It was meant to conduct guerilla warfare and sabotage activities. Another early task was to set up plans for a Swiss exile government. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | faster mobilization; deniability of violence |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | According to a report, most of the group’s members included weapons, telecommunications and psychological warfare experts. |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The group had access to weapons such as guns and explosives and there were weapons caches. It was trained by British intelligence (MI6). |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The PGM cooperated with NATO, though it was not directly part of its Gladio network. It was financed by the Ministry of Defence. There were strong links to the British MI6. The head of the group was Efrem Cattelan. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.