US Labor Organizer Assassinated in El Salvador - State Department Silent

This is not "news," in that it happened a month ago, but I only found out about it because I happened to be visiting the National Labor Committee's web site. The U.S. news media has been silent on this issue.

On November 5th, Gilberto Soto, an organizer for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), was murdered while visiting his mother in Usulutan, El Salvador.

What I find outrageous is that the State Department has said NOTHING about this (that I can find, anyway). A U.S. citizen has been murdered in broad daylight for political reasons, and our government is silent. Imagine if a missionary in China had been murdered - there would be an outcry for an official response.

Read on for the facts. I would be very interested to hear Markos comment on this, and yield the floor to those more knowledgeable than me. Forgive me also if this has already been raised on DailyKos - I searched the site and came up empty.

U.S. TRADE UNIONIST ASSASSINATED IN El SALVADOR
A Friend of the National Labor Committee

Mr. Gilberto Soto was assassinated Friday evening, November 5, at 6:00 p.m., while visiting his mother in the city of Usulutan, El Salvador.

Mr. Soto received a call on his cell phone and had just stepped outside the doorway of his mother's home searching for better reception, when he was approached by two men who shot and killed him at close range. He was shot in the upper back and on the lower side, near the kidney. It was this shot which severed his aorta, the major artery to the heart.

The killers fled. Some say they ran to a white van waiting about 100 yards away. There may also have been a third assailant on a bike.

Gilberto's sister, Arely Soto Rivas de Chacón, was the first to reach him. She heard what she thought were firecrackers. But then her brother cried out, "Mother, they've killed me!" She ran to him and found Gilberto on his knees, with his back to the front door. His arms were stretch out. His head was slumped over. Arely hugged him and begged him to speak, but Gilberto could no longer talk. Within five to seven minutes they had placed Gilberto in a pick-up truck and were racing him to the hospital. He was still breathing. Just four blocks from home, they ran into two police cars, one of which insisted on following them to the hospital rather than both cars attempting to catch the killers.

Gilberto died within 15 minutes of being shot. The doctor at the hospital told his family, "He never stood a chance. These people knew exactly where to put the bullets." There had been no attempt to rob Mr. Soto. It was clear that the sole intent was to kill him. There were several eye witnesses. The police failed to cordon off the murder scene until several hours after the shooting, and by that time a hard rain was falling. Of course, witnesses are afraid that if they talk, they will be next.

Mr. Gilberto Soto was a long time organizer with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Based in New Jersey, he was in charge of organizing port container drivers in the northeast of the U.S. He was currently involved in organizing drivers in Elizabeth, N.J.

Less than a year ago, Mr. Soto met in New York City with Denmark's SID Union (The Specialized Workers Union in Denmark) Central American Representative, Bjarne Larsen. The IBT and SID were interested in collaborating on a joint project documenting the systematic violations of worker rights by Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world.

Mr. Soto was just about to begin his organizing work in Central America when he was assassinated. He was going to meet with port workers in El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. However, his real interest was to meet with and assist the drivers who hauled Maersk containers.