From Joint Statement by Teamsters and AFL-CIO Regarding the Murder of Teamster José  Gilberto Soto

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) continue to demand a credible and transparent investigation of the murder of Teamster José Gilberto Soto, who was shot to death on November 5, 2004 in Usulutan, El Salvador. Efforts to date by the Salvadoran authorities have demonstrated glaring inadequacies that lead to on-going doubts about the institutional capacity to bring true justice in this case and for all Salvadorans. From the earliest moments after the murder, the IBT and AFL-CIO have communicated to both the U.S. Government and the Salvadoran authorities our on-going demand that the murder of this U.S citizen of Salvadoran descent be fully investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice. To that end, a Teamster-led delegation visited El Salvador from November 30 to December 2, 2004 where the participants met with officials from the Salvadoran National Police, the Minster of the Interior, the Attorney General, and the Foreign Minister and were assured that the authorities were examining every line of investigation, including any links of the murder to Mr. Solo’s planned trade union work in El Salvador and other Central American countries.

On December 3, 2004 the Salvadoran National Police announced the arrest of suspects, including the mother-in-law of Mr. Soto, as the material and intellectual authors of the murder. The IBT and the AFL-CIO remain skeptical of these developments, given the lack of transparency in the handling of the case and the failure to investigate all possible motives for the crime.

In spite of the formal complaint filed with the Salvadoran Office for the Defense of Human Rights, which requires the ombudswoman and her staff to investigate the allegations of human rights violations, and in spite of outcries from the international community, Human Rights Ombudswoman Dr. Beatrice Alamanni de Carrillo was denied access necessary to fully monitor the investigation and to review the evidence submitted in connection with the case. Without transparency in monitoring the case, it is difficult to accept the credibility and the accuracy of the investigation. In addition, when Dr. Alamanni de Carrillo was able to interview the suspects, after their arrest, she reported a number of irregularities in the arrest procedures, including the use of physical and psychological torture to extract confessions. While the use of torture is barbaric and abhorrent in itself, it also calls into question the validity of evidence obtained in such a manner.

Finally, the Teamsters and the AFL-CIO reject the manipulation on the part of the Salvadoran authorities of the good faith efforts to seek justice in this case. While Salvadoran cabinet ministers made statements in early December promising full investigation of all motives of the assassination, the report released by the Office of Defense of Human Rights on January 13, 2005 clearly states that no efforts were made by the Salvadoran authorities to investigate any linkages of the murder to Mr. Soto’s trade union work. This point and Dr. Alamanni de Carrillo’s assessment of the inadequacies and irregularities of the official police investigation are confirmed by an independent investigation conducted by the Instituto de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Centro Americana (IDHUCA) under the supervision of Benjamin Cuellar.

In addition, on January 7, 2005 in press statements made in Washington, DC President Elias Antonio Saca declared that he had never received communications about the case from U.S. trade unions, that the Salvadoran Human Rights Ombudswoman as well as a Human Rights Expert from the OAS had thoroughly monitored the investigation, and that U.S. trade union representatives visiting El Salvador in December, had fully reviewed all documentation in connection with the murder investigation, and had left the country well-satisfied with the proceedings. We reject these statements as manipulations of the truth and as a public relations scheme to deflect attention from the on-going violations of human and labor rights in El Salvador.