U.S. Trade Unionist Gilberto Soto Assassinated in El Salvador in November 2004; Still No Credible Investigation

In November 2004, a U.S. labor organizer visiting El Salvador was assassinated.  The Salvadoran government has failed to undertake a credible investigation into his murder and those responsible remain at large.  The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has called for, and helped finance, an independent investigation into his murder.

Background 

On Friday, November 5, 2004, Teamster organizer Jose Gilberto Soto was murdered in front of his mother’s house in Usulutan, El Salvador. A year after his murder, human rights and trade union organizations denounced the lack of a credible investigation into his murder. Salvadoran authorities arrested Mr. Soto's mother-in-law in December 2004 but the investigation leading to her arrest has been sharply criticized by the country's top human rights official, the Teamsters, and others. In November 2005, the Teamsters announced it would help finance an independent investigation. In February 2006, Mr. Soto's mother-in-law was released for lack of evidence, confirming the need for an independent investigation.

Mr. Soto was visiting El Salvador on behalf of the Teamsters to meet with Central American trade union leaders and port drivers and was about to begin organizing Central American port workers and documenting worker rights violations for those hauling the containers of the Maersk Shipping Company. Prior to Mr. Soto’s trip, the Teamsters had contacted USLEAP and other groups to identify trade union contacts in the region.

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 involved in current organizing drivers in Elizabeth, N.J. Mr. Soto was born in El Salvador and immigrated to the U.S. in 1975.

Additionally, the Center for Labor Studies and Support (CEAL) had their offices ransacked on Saturday November 14, 2004 after they made public statements and press releases regarding the murder of Mr. Soto. This incident reflects the insecurity that remains for labor and human rights advocates in El Salvador.

Human Rights Watch wrote a letter to letter to Salvadoran president Elías Antonio Saca on November 23, 2004 asking for an investigation of the assassination of Gilberto Soto. To see a copy of the letter, click here.

Mr. Soto's murder was reported in the November 21, 2004 edition of The New York Times article on Gilberto Soto or see the International Brotherhood of Teamsters web page on Gilberto Soto.