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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Sat Mar 2, 2013, 11:21 PM Mar 2013

Despite Colombia's measures, labor union officials' lives at risk

Despite Colombia's measures, labor union officials' lives at risk

U.S. Embassy in Bogota issues a statement condemning 'threats and recent attacks.' Last year, about 20 union leaders were killed and 90 kidnapped.

By Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times
March 2, 2013, 6:51 p.m.

CALI, Colombia — Union organizer Juan Carlos Perez saw two gunmen in front of his house and tried to escape though the back door. But he was killed minutes later — in front of half a dozen horrified co-workers — when the assassins caught up to him at a rural bus stop. They then nonchalantly drove away on their motorbikes, witnesses of the Jan. 28 slaying said.

Perez, a 30-year-old sugar cane cutter, had been fighting for better working conditions for 1,000 workers at La Cabana sugar mill in Guachene, south of Cali, a facility with a history of labor unrest. Fellow workers said his goals included direct negotiations with management and steady paychecks.

"He felt affected by the poor treatment of the workers and that they should unite to demand better conditions," his widow, Luz Aidee, who was left with children ages 7 and 11, said in an interview. "He was not the type to make scandals or insult anyone. But he was not one to be intimidated either."

Last year, about 20 union leaders were killed in Colombia, with few if any of the slayings resulting in arrests. In addition, 90 labor leaders were kidnapped and 431 labor leaders were threatened, according to CUT, the nation's labor umbrella organization.

More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-colombia-union-slayings-20130303,0,3357307.story

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