El Salvador: Hoffa welcomes decision to reopen Soto murder case

Saturday, August 22, 2009
El Salvador: Hoffa welcomes decision to reopen Soto murder case

Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa applauded the announcement by the Salvadoran government that it will reopen the investigation into the assassination of Teamsters Port Division Representative Gilberto Soto after nearly five years since his death in Usulutan, El Salvador.

Recently elected Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes ordered the reopening of the case following requests from labor and government officials to follow through on his promise to strengthen the judicial system and crack down on crime in El Salvador by bringing Soto's murderers to justice.

"President Funes has taken an important first step in strengthening human rights in El Salvador," Hoffa said. "The violence against trade unionists in El Salvador and across Central and South America has been allowed to go unchecked for far too long. Gilberto Soto's murderers must not be allowed to remain free if the Salvadoran government seeks to make significant strides in strengthening democratic institutions."

Hoffa, in a recent letter to Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton, urged the State Department to inform President Funes that solving the Soto case will go a long way to further human rights in El Salvador.

"Convicting the Soto assassins is not simply an issue of importance to the Teamsters," Hoffa wrote. "Those who murder labor and human rights activists in El Salvador have operated with impunity for too many years. This has stifled the development of a trade union movement and stymied the development of a democratic civil society."

Rep. McGovern also called on President Funes to reopen the Soto case in a June 8 letter.

More:
http://ionglobaltrends.blogspot.com/2009/08/el-salvador-hoffa-welcomes-decision-to.html