Urgent Action: Coca Cola Worker & Family threatened

William Mendoza, president of the Coca-Cola workers' union (Sinaltrainal) in the city of Barrancabermeja in Colombia, and his family are again being threatened by the right-wing paramilitaries. On January 22, William had to move his family out of Barrancabermeja.

Today, January 23, he wrote, "What I urgently need is for you to continue the political pressure on the Colombian government, that is the deciding factor in the current problem." William is requesting that faxes be sent to the Human Rights Office of the Interior Ministry and to the Public Defender (national human rights office). At the end of this message, you'll find the fax numbers for those offices, a sample letter in Spanish, and an English translation of the letter.

On January 6, William got a call on his cell phone from a person who identified himself as John Jairo and said that he was the political director of the self-defense forces (the paramilitaries) and they needed to talk with William.

On January 17, William's 12-year-old daughter answered the phone in their house. An unknown man said, "Where are your dad and mom. Tell them to take very good care of themselves. Where do you go to school?"

She answered, "At the Technical Business School." The man said, "Don't be a liar, you go to the Diego Hernández School, and right now your brother is cleaning the front of the house. Take very good care of yourselves." In fact, William's daughter does go to the Diego Hernández School and his son was cleaning the front of the house.

I spent a month last summer accompanying William and the other leaders of the Coke workers' union in Barrancabermeja. I talked with William yesterday afternoon, and he said that he's determined to continue his work in Barrancabermeja but he's very concerned about his familiy. On behalf of William and his family, please take a moment to send faxes to the Interior Ministry and the Public Defender.

Me dirijo a usted para expresar mi gran preocupación por la seguridad de William Mendoza y su familia. William es el presidente de la seccional de Sinaltrainal (Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentos) en Barrancabermeja, y él y su familia están perseguidos por presuntos paramilitares.

En 6 de enero, William recibió una llamada en su teléfono celular de una persona que se identificó como John Jairo. El dijo que era responsable político de las autodefensas y que necesitaban hablar con William.

El 17 de enero, la hija de William recibió una llamada de una persona desconocida. El dijo, "Donde están su papá y su mamá. Dígales que se cuiden mucho. Usted, dónde estudia?" Ella respondió, "En el Colegio Técnico del Comercio," y él dijo, "No sea mentirosa. Usted estudia en el Colegio Diego Hernández y su hermano en estos momentos está lavando el frente de la casa. Cuídense mucho." Efectivamente ella estudia en el Colegio Diego Hernández y el hijo estaba haciendo el aseo al frente de la casa, lo que supone que estaban vigilando la casa y fue un mensaje claro para William.

Le pido a usted que haga todo lo posible para garantizar la seguridad de William y su familia. Voy a seguir muy de cerca esta situación tan preocupante.

I'm writing to you to express my grave concern for the safety of William Mendoza and his family. William is the president of the Barrancabermeja section of Sinaltrainal (National Food Industry Workers' Union), and he and his family are being persecuted by presumed paramilitaries.

On January 6, William got a call on his cell phone from a person who identified himself as John Jairo. He said that he was the political director of the self-defense forces and they needed to talk with William.

On Januay 17, William's daughter got a call from an unknown person. He said, "Where are your dad and mom? Tell them to take good care of themselves. Where do you study?" She answered, "In the Technical Business School," and he said, "Don't be a liar. You study in the Diego Hernandez School and right now your brother is cleaning the front of the house. Take good care of yourselves." In fact, she does go to the Diego Hernandez School and the son was cleaning up the front of the house, which means that they were watching the house and this was a clear message to William.

I ask you to do everything possible to guarantee the safety of William and his family. I will be following very closely this very troubling situation.