In international relations, violent non-state actors (VNSAs), also known as non-state armed actors or non-state armed groups (NSAGs), are individuals or groups that are wholly or partly independent of governments and which threaten or use violence to achieve their goals.
Contras in Nicaragua, 1987
MS-13 gang graffiti
A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private military contractors".
Ugandan nationals contracted to Triple Canopy during training in Iraq, 2011
David Stirling, founder of the SAS, founded a PMC in the 1960s.
Armed contractors aboard a merchant ship to deter piracy.
Iraqi contract security in the International (Green) Zone of Baghdad