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Today's
Stories
December
3, 2004
Sasan
Fayazmanesh
The EU, the US, Israel and Iran
December
2, 2004
Tito
Tricot
No Justice in Chile: I'm a Torture
Survivor in a Country Where Torturers Still Run Free
Behzad
Yaghmaian
The Murder of Theo Van Gogh and Muslim Migration
Dr.
Susan Block
Lana and Me: Meetings with Remarkable Apes
Frank
/ Chowkwanyun
Liberalism and Its Bounds
Lee
Sustar
Standoff in Ukraine: the Bad v. the Corrupt
Patrick
Cockburn
Another Grim Record in Iraq
Mark
Engler
Seattle at Five
Michael
Donnelly
Something Stinks in South Bend: the Firing of Tyrone Willingham
Nate
Collins
The Bay Area Mall on an Ohlone Burial Grounds
Saul
Landau
The Assassination of Danilo Anderson
December
1, 2004
Phillip
Cryan
Associated with Whom? Rightist Bias
in Wire Coverage of Colombia
Dave
Zirin
What's the Matter with "Leon"?:
Budweiser's Racist Commercial
Ghali
Hassan
Iraq's Health Care Under the Occupation:
200 Children Die Every Day
Donna
J. Volatile
Beware Western Nations Threatening "Democracy"
Patrick
Cockburn
How Saddam Tried to Arm the Insurgency
Nick
Meo
Chemical War Over Afghanistan
Mike
Ferner
The Battle of Toledo
Mokhiber
/ Weissman
Shame and Determination on Global AIDS Day: 40 Million and Rising
Kathy
Kelly
Looking the Other Way: the Real Crimes
of the UN in Iraq
November
30, 2004
Jennifer
Van Bergen
The Veil of Secrecy
Toni
Nelson Herrera
Meeting Kurtz: When Art is a Crime
Paul
Craig Roberts
The Bush Delusions: Successful at Incompetence
Patrick
Cockburn
The Insurgency Strikes Back: There Are No Safe Havens in Iraq
Chuck
Munson
WTO Protests Five Years Later: Seattle Weekly Trashes Anti-Globalization
Movement
Adam
Williams
Citizenship Sold: Back to Business in Indiana
Gregory
Elich
A Dangerous Turn in the US Plans for
North Korea
Website
of the Day
Read Lynne Cheney's Lesbian Novel Online!
November
29, 2004
Dave
Lindorff
Blowback in Ukraine: The Hand of
the CIA?
Omar
Barghouti
"The Pianist" of Palestine:
Roadblock Concerto at Gunpoint
Mike
Whitney
The US Media and Fallujah: How to
Market a Siege
Uri
Avnery
The Abu Mazen Style: "Give Me
Some Credit!"
Matt
Vidal
Globalization and Economic Inequality: a Look at the Numbers
Patrick
Cockburn
An Interview with Iraq's Foreign
Minister
Alan
Farago
Sex Change and Salvation: God, Girly Men and Endocrine Disrupters
Justin
Huggler
Bhopal 20 Years Later
Antony
Loewenstein
How Australia Reported Arafat's Death and Legacy
Gary
Leupp
Ukraine: Poll Results Aren't the Real
Issue
Website
of the Day
Mosul: Images from a Kill Zone
November
27 / 28, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Torture & Neo-Liberalism with
Sycorax in Iraq
Alexander
Cockburn
What Happened to O'Reilly's Loofa?
Fred
Gardner
Ashcroft v. Raich: Medical Marijuana and the Supreme Court
Kathy
Kelly
What We Can Control
Diane
Christian
The Other Cheek: "Empire Doesn't Analyze, It Acts"
Gary
Leupp
One More Neocon Target: South (Yes, South) Korea
Lenni
Brenner
Equality and Rights of Return: Jefferson Instructs the New York
Times
Ron
Jacobs
Death Squads and Iraq's Elections: the Mysterious Murders of
the AMS Clerics
Joshua
Frank
An Interview with Kevin Zeese on Nader, Kerry and the ABB Crowd
Toni
Solo
The Murder of Danilo Anderson
Saul
Landau
Fallujah, the 21st Century Guernica
JoAnn
Wypijewski
Matthew Shepard Case 6 Years Later: Why Hate Crimes Laws are
No Cure for Homophobia
Justin
Taylor
Empire's Lawless Opportunities
Amos
Harel
The Case of Captain R.
Walter
A. Davis
Tabloid Justice
Stephen
Hendricks
God's Kind of Men
Poets'
Basement
Albert, LaMorticella and Ford
November
26, 2004
Peter
Feng
Gavin Newsom: Man or Machine?
Greg
Moses
It's the White Vote, Stupid
Liaquat
Ali Khan
The Devil's Work: Bush's Minority Appointments
Michael
Mandel / Gail Davidson
Why Bush Should Be Banned from Canada: a Memo to the Ministry
of Immigration
Dave
Lindorff
Nation of Sheep, Turkey of an Election: Urkrainians Show the
Way
Gary
Corseri
When Black Friday Comes...
Paul
Craig Roberts
Whatever Happened to Conservatives?
Website
of the Day
Iraq Pipeline Watch
November
25, 2004
Willliam
Loren Katz
Giving Thanks to Whom?: "Thanks
to God We Sent 600 Heathen Souls to Hell Today"
Mitchel
Cohen
Why I Hate Thanksgiving
Mike
Ferner
An Uncommon Mom
November
24, 2004
Gila
Svirsky
License to Kill: the Example of Violence
is Set by the State
Winslow
T. Wheeler
The
Other Mess in Congress
Christopher
Brauchli
The Company He Keeps: the Syndicate of Tom Delay
Dave
Lindorff
Double Standards on Exit Polls: Hypocrisy Sans Irony
Ron
Jacobs
The Occupation of Iraq is the Root of t he Problem
Ken
Sengupta
Witnesses: War Crimes in Fallujah
Diana
Barahona
The Final Holocaust or Why I Voted for Ralph Nader
John
L. Hess
Safire the Shameless
Jason
Leopold
Did Harvard Hire (Another) War Criminal?
Jeffrey
St. Clair
The Mark of McCain: the Senator Most Likely to Start a Nuclear
War
Map
of the Day
Now and Then: 2004 v. 1860
November
23, 2004
Forrest
Hylton
Bush and Uribe at the Beach
November
22, 2004
Dave
Zirin
Fight Night in the NBA: Selective Outrage
in Detroit
Paul
Craig Roberts
On to Iran: We Won't Get Fooled Again?
Michael
Mandel / Gail Davidson
Why Bush Should be Banned from Canada
Kathie
Helmkamp
Our Son: a Marine Who Won't Kill
Ken
Sengupta
The Triangle of Death: "This is Now the Most Dangerous Place
in Iraq"
Mike
Whitney
Greenspan's Hammer
Roger
Burbach
Why They Hate Bush in Chile
Website
of the Day
Fed Up with Government Lies and Corporate Spin?
November
20 / 21, 2004
Alexander
Cockburn
The Poisoned Chalice
Todd
May
Religion, the Election and the Politics of Fear
Abbas
Ahmed Ibrahim
The Horrors of Fallujah: a First-Hand Account
Kevin
Zeese
Mishandling Nader
Landau
/ Hassen
After Arafat
Tom
Barry
The Vulcans Consolidate Power: The Rise of Stephen Hadley
Fred
Gardner
Pot Shots: Ask Dr. Todd
Justin
E.H. Smith
Triumph of the Will: the Sequel
Carl
Estabrook
Where We Are Now
Gary
Leupp
Imperial History-Making vs. Reality-Based Thought: a Dialogue
Dave
Lindorff
Apocalypse Soon
Jenna
Michelle Liut
Plans Colombia and Patriota: Wanton Wastes of Money, Manpower
and Lives
Mickey
Z.
The Granma Moses of Radical Writing: an Interview with William
Blum
Greg
Moses
The Same Old Struggle Against Imperial America
Sharon
Smith
Abortion Rights and the Election: What Now?
Ron
Jacobs
Sandwiches and Car Bombs
Ben
Tripp
Raising d'Etre: Finding Money in Hollywood These Days
Richard
Oxman
Basketbrawl Two Pointer: Iraq Rules!
Gilad
Atzmon
Politics and Jazz
Poets'
Basement
LaMorticella, Albert, Ford, & Anon.
Website
of the Day
Voice of the Forest
Hot Stories
Alexander Cockburn
Behold,
the Head of a Neo-Con!
Subcomandante
Marcos
The
Death Train of the WTO
Norman Finkelstein
Hitchens
as Model Apostate
Steve Niva
Israel's
Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings?
Dardagan,
Slobodo and Williams
CounterPunch Exclusive:
20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians
Steve
J.B.
Prison Bitch
Sheldon
Rampton and John Stauber
True Lies: the Use of Propaganda
in the Iraq War
Wendell
Berry
Small Destructions Add Up
CounterPunch
Wire
WMD: Who Said What When
Cindy
Corrie
A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter
I Can't Hear From
Gore Vidal
The
Erosion of the American Dream
Francis Boyle
Impeach
Bush: A Draft Resolution
Click
Here for More Stories.
|
December 3, 2004
The Assassination
of Teamster Organizer Gilberto Soto
Murder
in El Salvador
By
JOE ALLEN
Gilberto Soto, an organizer for the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, was assassinated November
5 in El Salvador, where he was building links with Central American
port workers.
Soto was killed by two gunmen
outside his mother's house in Usulutan, 60 miles from the capital
city of San Salvador.
He was an organizer with the
Teamsters Port Division in New Jersey and had spent the last
several years in a campaign to organize port workers, mostly
drivers, in the Northeastern U.S. A year ago, he began working
with the Danish General Workers Union to document violations
of worker rights by Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies
in the world.
Maersk has a long and rotten
record in El Salvador. In 2001, for example, the company fired
and blacklisted over 100 drivers in a vicious union-busting campaign.
Soto had just arrived in El
Salvador to begin his organizing work when he was assassinated.
He had planned meetings with port workers who drive trucks for
Maersk, and with labor officials in Nicaragua, El Salvador and
Honduras.
El Salvador's right-wing death
squads--made up of members of the police and military--have a
bloody history of harassing and killing trade unionists at the
behest of the richest employers. It is likely that Soto was murdered
by such a group.
"We need an investigation,"
says Soto's sister Areli, who was inside the house when her brother
was killed. "This murder did not just happen. There is something
behind this. We demand justice in this country where there is
so little justice."
Teamster President James P.
Hoffa and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney met with the El Salvador's
ambassador to the U.S. to demand that Soto's killers be brought
to justice. "We told the ambassador of our deep concern
about the lack of any type of investigation," Hoffa told
the New York Times. "We're concerned that Gilberto
Soto was murdered because of his intention to meet with labor
leaders and truck drivers in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras."
The Teamsters, along with the
International Longshoremen's Association and International Longshore
and Warehouse Union, have offered a $75,000 reward for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of Soto's killers.
The most likely source of information
is his longtime foe--the Copenhagen-based shipping giant Maersk.
Maersk's cargo containers on
the back of trucks are a common sight in most U.S. cities. Maersk
has offices or is represented in 100 countries around the world.
Fifty-three of the company's carriers fly the U.S. flag. It controls
80 percent of the container shipping market in El Salvador.
Maersk's U.S. director Charles
O'Connor said that the company was opening its own "independent
investigation" into Soto's murder, in cooperation with Salvadoran
officials. O'Connor then said, "We don't know Gilberto Soto."
Such an obvious lie will hopefully
come back to haunt Maersk in the weeks ahead.
The Teamsters dismissed Maersk's
"independent" investigation. "Four years ago,
Maersk officials slandered port truck drivers in El Salvador
who were seeking union contracts with their Central American
trucking operation, calling them 'terrorists and thugs,'"
said Chuck Mack, director of the Teamsters Port Division. "Three
years ago, they floated the rumor that the leader of a port truck
driver union campaign at Maersk's Oakland, Calif., trucking subsidiary,
Pacific Rim Transport, Inc., was a terrorist agent of the Taliban."
However, the Teamsters for
the moment seem satisfied to leave the investigation into Soto's
murder in the hands of the Salvadoran government. "This
murder investigation is best left to the Salvadoran authorities,
who have indicated their willingness to accept assistance from
U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies," Mack said.
"If the Salvadoran police engage in a cover-up, we will
seek assistance of human rights organizations with a track record
of integrity of and independence."
But a cover-up is the predictable
first move by Salvadoran police. They have already tried to smear
Soto by claiming that his death was "gang- or drug-related"--a
charge vigorously rebutted by Gilberto Soto's family.
Those who publicized Soto's
killing in El Savador have faced harassment and intimidation.
For example, the Center for Labor Studies and Support, a Salvadoran
labor rights group, had their offices trashed and its computers
stolen.
The potential role of U.S.
government intelligence agencies in any investigation into Soto's
murder makes it even less likely that his killer will be found--given
the extensive ties between the Pentagon and CIA and the Salvadoran
military and police. The first death squad in El Salvador was
set up by the Green Berets and the CIA in 1962, and the relationship
continues to this day.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
was in El Salvador in November handing out medals and congratulating
members of Salvadoran military for their role in the disastrous
occupation of Iraq. Rumsfeld endorsed the U.S. role in El Salvador's
civil war in the 1980s--where 80,000 people were killed, mostly
by government forces or death squads connected to the military--as
a model for the occupation of Iraq.
Amnesty International reports
that death squad activity fell off after the 1992 signing of
a peace treaty that ended El Salvador's civil war, but revived
in the mid to late 1990s. Repression against union activists
has increased since the creation of the Central American Free
Trade Zone, with El Salvador promoting itself as a cheap source
of cheap, non-union labor.
Soto emigrated to the U.S.
from El Salvador in 1975. He was an active supporter of the Farabundo
Marti National Liberation Front, which led an ultimately unsuccessful
struggle for power against El Salvador's military dictatorship
in the 1980s. He was also active in the Committee in Solidarity
with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), which opposed U.S. intervention
in El Salvador's civil war during the same period.
Soto became the first Latino
president of a Teamster local in New Jersey in 1993. From 1994
to 2000, he was an organizer with the National Union of Hospital
and Health Care Employees. He then returned to Teamster first
as a business agent, then as an organizer for the Teamster Port
Division.
Soto was one day short of his
50th birthday when he was assassinated, and leaves behind a wife
and three children. His killers will be brought to justice only
if a vigorous international campaign brings pressure on the Salvadoran
government.
Joe Allen writes for the Socialist
Worker.
Weekend Edition
Features for November
27 / 28, 2004
Peter
Linebaugh
Torture & Neo-Liberalism with
Sycorax in Iraq
Alexander
Cockburn
What Happened to O'Reilly's Loofa?
Fred
Gardner
Ashcroft v. Raich: Medical Marijuana and the Supreme Court
Kathy
Kelly
What We Can Control
Diane
Christian
The Other Cheek: "Empire Doesn't Analyze, It Acts"
Gary
Leupp
One More Neocon Target: South (Yes, South) Korea
Lenni
Brenner
Equality and Rights of Return: Jefferson Instructs the New York
Times
Ron
Jacobs
Death Squads and Iraq's Elections: the Mysterious Murders of
the AMS Clerics
Joshua
Frank
An Interview with Kevin Zeese on Nader, Kerry and the ABB Crowd
Toni
Solo
The Murder of Danilo Anderson
Saul
Landau
Fallujah, the 21st Century Guernica
JoAnn
Wypijewski
Matthew Shepard Case 6 Years Later: Why Hate Crimes Laws are
No Cure for Homophobia
Justin
Taylor
Empire's Lawless Opportunities
Amos
Harel
The Case of Captain R.
Walter
A. Davis
Tabloid Justice
Stephen
Hendricks
God's Kind of Men
Poets'
Basement
Albert, LaMorticella and Ford
|