Colombia Union Deaths Challenged In U.S. Court

The incident allegedly occurred when a bus, which had just left Drummond’s coal mine carrying some 50 workers, was stopped by gunmen, who forced two union leaders off. They shot one on the spot, pumping four bullets into his head and dragged the other one off to be tortured and killed. As the Associated Press reports:

Multinationals operating in Colombia have admitted paying right-wing militias known as paramilitaries to protect their operations. But human rights activists claim the companies went further, using the fighters to violently keep their labor costs down. The Drummond case, they say, is their best chance yet of seeing those allegations heard in court.