Teamsters Urge Secretary of State Rice to Demand Reopening of Soto Murder Case

Teamsters Continue to Seek Truth About 2004 Murder of Union Organizer


Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa is urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to demand the government of El Salvador take immediate action to reopen and support a transparent investigation into the murder of Teamster Port Division representative Gilberto Soto.

"Just as they did in the height of the anti-union death squads during the 1980s, the Salvadoran government attempted to cover up this assassination from the first day by labeling it a 'common crime' and stonewalling a proper investigation," Hoffa said. "We urge that Secretary of State Rice use her influence to ensure that this murder becomes a top priority with a transparent and aggressive investigation."

Soto, a U.S. citizen born in El Salvador, was assassinated on November 5, 2004, in Usulutan, El Salvador, while on assignment for the Teamsters to build a network of Central American port workers. Salvadoran authorities, lacking credible evidence, rushed to charge and jail his mother-in-law with hiring hit men because of a domestic dispute. Two alleged gunmen were also charged for the killing.

A Salvadoran court, however, later acquitted the mother-in-law and one of the gunmen. Authorities made no attempt to determine if the slaying could be connected to people working to prevent unions from gaining strength in El Salvador's Acajutla port.

"We can't tolerate the murder of an American citizen, especially when the murder may be connected to organizing workers to protect and improve living standards," Hoffa said in his letter to Rice.

The Salvadoran government never conducted an objective investigation and continues to obstruct the work of the country's Human Rights Ombudsman, Beatrice de Carrillo, who has been investigating the assassination and cover up. Carrillo has received threats for examining Soto's killing and other human rights violations in El Salvador.

"Unless this murder is solved and the Salvadoran government agrees to properly fund, support and protect the investigation, no labor leaders or human rights activists will be safe in El Salvador," Hoffa said.

Hoffa's letter to Secretary of State Rice asks her to insist that the government of El Salvador:


* Reopen the investigation into Soto's murder, including the possibility
that the killings may have been related to his work as a Teamster
organizer;

* Grant the Human Rights Ombudsman access to the police case files; and

* Strengthen and support the work of the Ombudsman, including steps to
assure the funding, safety and security of the Ombudsman and her office.

"We have got to get to the bottom of this," Hoffa said. "The Salvadoran government's inactions allow impunity for those truly responsible for Gilberto's murder."

Hoffa's letter is available on the Teamsters web site at http://www.teamster.org/about/hoffa/pdfs/Soto.pdf.

Hoffa's letter follows a condemnation of the Salvadoran government's handling of the case by the United Nations' International Labor Organization (ILO). The Geneva-based ILO on November 15 called on the Salvadoran government to reopen the case file and stop thwarting an honest inquiry. The ILO's Committee on Freedom of Association issued a report criticizing the Salvadoran government's handling of Soto's murder. The report is available at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb297/pdf/gb-10.pdf.