SINALTRAINAL food workers' union - Colombia

 LETTER 

TRADE UNIONISTS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN DANGER

Leaders of the food workers’ union SINALTRAINAL and their families are in danger, following a series of death threats from paramilitary organisations. SINALTRAINAL has been in dispute with several large national and multinational companies in recent years, and reports of human rights violations against its members tend to coincide with these disputes. Three years ago Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, leader of a local branch of SINALTRAINAL in northern Colombia, was killed.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2009

SINALTRAINAL member Gustavo Gómez was killed on 21 August.

According to information provided by SINALTRAINAL, on 21 August 2009 two armed men arrived at Gustavo Gómez’s house in the municipality of Dosquebradas, Risaralda Department, western-central Colombia. When Gustavo Gómez opened the door, the men asked him if he was indeed Gustavo Gómez. They subsequently shot him ten times, fatally injuring him. He died of his wounds later in hospital. There are no reports that Gustavo Gómez had previously received death threats. His cousin, José de Jesús Marín Vargas, also a SINALTRAINAL member, was killed on 22 November 2007 in the same municipality. Gustavo Gómez's killing took place in an area in which paramilitary groups are known to be operating.

UPDATE: 26 MARCH 2009
We have just heard from the National Leadership of SINALTRAINAL. They would like to thank you for the “hundreds of solidarity letters, especially from England” that thay have received:
 
“Please extend our immense gratitude to your members and let them know how valuable their solidarity is to us.  To a great extent it has been our motivation to continue existing as a trade union and to carry on helping build another Colombia for the large majority of its people. Thank you very much, dear partners.”

Background Information

On 12 February 2008 a letter containing death threats signed by a paramilitary group, the Black Eagles Front, arrived at the home of José Domingo Flórez, a SINALTRAINAL leader in the municipality of Bucaramanga, Santander Department. The letter said trade unionists were terrorists and because they had disobeyed a previous paramilitary order to leave the city, they would have to bear the consequences. These would be cruel, and would start with their families. The letter also said that SINALTRAINAL leaders Javier Correa, José Domingo Flórez and Luis Eduardo García were under surveillance.

That evening Luis García was stopped near José Domingo Flórez’ home by two men on a motorcycle, who told him: ‘Now you are going to die trade unionist son-of-a-bitch.’

On 13 February José Domingo Flórez received another death threat, giving him eight days to leave the area. The threat mentioned his daughter, saying that she was very nice and they would “take her for a ride”.

Death threats against SINALTRAINAL leaders from paramilitary groups increased in 2002, after workers at Nestlé-CICOLAC went on strike. Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, leader of a local branch of SINALTRAINAL in Valledupar, Cesar Department, in northern Colombia, was killed in September 2005. He had been planning a trip to Switzerland to testify about death threats against trade unionists representing workers in Nestlé plants in Colombia. His body, bearing 40 stab wounds, was found in an area of Valledupar reported to be under paramilitary control.

During the criminal investigations into his death, attempts were made to suggest that he was a guerrilla or that his killing was related to family problems. At least one witness was threatened by paramilitaries to try to force her to implicate Luciano Romero in guerrilla activities.

On 21 January 2008 two paramilitaries were convicted of the killing. The judge rejected claims that Luciano Romero was linked to a guerrilla group, and pointed to his trade union activism as the motive behind his murder. This is particularly significant in a context where public officials frequently make unfounded allegations about trade unionists to undermine their legitimacy.

The judge ordered that criminal investigations should continue to establish who was responsible for ordering the killing. No further progress in these investigations has been reported, and this judge has since had his contract terminated

 LETTER 

TRADE UNIONISTS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN DANGER

Leaders of the food workers’ union SINALTRAINAL and their families are in danger, following a series of death threats from paramilitary organisations. SINALTRAINAL has been in dispute with several large national and multinational companies in recent years, and reports of human rights violations against its members tend to coincide with these disputes. Three years ago Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, leader of a local branch of SINALTRAINAL in northern Colombia, was killed.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2009

SINALTRAINAL member Gustavo Gómez was killed on 21 August.

According to information provided by SINALTRAINAL, on 21 August 2009 two armed men arrived at Gustavo Gómez’s house in the municipality of Dosquebradas, Risaralda Department, western-central Colombia. When Gustavo Gómez opened the door, the men asked him if he was indeed Gustavo Gómez. They subsequently shot him ten times, fatally injuring him. He died of his wounds later in hospital. There are no reports that Gustavo Gómez had previously received death threats. His cousin, José de Jesús Marín Vargas, also a SINALTRAINAL member, was killed on 22 November 2007 in the same municipality. Gustavo Gómez's killing took place in an area in which paramilitary groups are known to be operating.

UPDATE: 26 MARCH 2009
We have just heard from the National Leadership of SINALTRAINAL. They would like to thank you for the “hundreds of solidarity letters, especially from England” that thay have received:
 
“Please extend our immense gratitude to your members and let them know how valuable their solidarity is to us.  To a great extent it has been our motivation to continue existing as a trade union and to carry on helping build another Colombia for the large majority of its people. Thank you very much, dear partners.”

Please write to the Colombian authorities urging them to protect the members of SINALTRAINAL and their families