Oil Union Leader Killed
On Mar. 20 in the Galan neighborhood of the Colombian oil port city of Barrancabermeja, Santander department, two assailants on a motorcycle shot to death oil union leader Rafael Jaimes Torra. Jaimes was the treasurer of the Barrancabermeja refinery section of the United Union of Workers (USO), which represents workers at the state-run oil company Ecopetrol. Jaimes' 16-year old nephew, German Augusto Corzo Garcia, was seriously wounded in the attack and died a few hours later. The same night, two gunmen on a motorcycle also fired shots at the USO offices in Barrancabermeja
Military Uses Force to Frustrate Strike
The refinery workers who were on shift at the time went on strike immediately after hearing of Jaimes' murder. When other union leaders and members arrived at the refinery 15 minutes after the attack to join the protest, the site had already been placed under military control as part of a company "contingency" plan for dealing with labor unrest. The soldiers pushed their rifles into the workers' chests to force them back, and fired shots past their ears to intimidate them, according to a Mar. 21 communique from the USO's national board of directors. "This situation seemed to be due to a coordinated and premeditated plan to eliminate the union," wrote the USO directors.
AUC Threatens to Murder USO Leaders
On Mar. 18, an envelope was delivered to USO president Rafael Tobias Pena in Bogota. In the envelope was a letter signed by "Lucas" of the "Capital Bloc" of the rightwing paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), warning the USO that it has 20 days to abandon all its offices in areas of paramilitary influence--Bogota, Medellin and Fusagasuga in particular. If the USO does not comply with this order, warned the AUC, it will declare union leaders Tobias Pena, Jaime Bobadilla, Carlos Torres, Gustavo Cala, Jorge Ardila and Olimpo Cardenas to be "military targets." On Feb. 21, "Lucas" of the AUC's Capital Bloc had called the USO offices to warn that the paramilitaries would begin a "cleanup" of the union. The AUC abducted Gilberto Torres Martinez, general secretary of USO's pipeline section, on Feb. 25 in Monterrey, Casanare department [see Updates #631-633].
Take Action Now!
Messages demanding protection for union leaders and an end to paramilitary attacks can be sent to President Andres Pastrana Arango (fax #571-286-7434, 286-6842, 284-2186; pastrana@presidencia.gov.co) and Defense Minister Gustavo Bell (fax 571-222-1874; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co). [Equipo Nizkor-Derechos Human Rights-Serpaj Europa Informacion 3/21/02 from Vanguardia (Bucaramanga), USO Communiques, CUT Human Rights Department]
From the
Weekly News Update on the Americas (ISSN 1084-922X), published by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, 212-674-9499,
wnu@igc.org.
Paramilitaries Use Aircraft
