US mining group faces trial over dead activists

By Anastasia Moloney in Bogotá

Published: July 8 2007 18:54 | Last updated: July 8 2007 18:54

A landmark trial involving a US mining company accused of conspiring to murder three Colombian union activists opens on Monday in a US district court in Birmingham, Alabama.

The civil lawsuit, filed by the International Labor Rights Fund and the United Steelworkers of America, accuses Drummond, an Alabama-based mining company, of paying paramilitaries to kill union leaders who worked at the company’s La Loma coal mine in northern Colombia in 2001.

“The case seeks to remedy and prevent the violent persecution of trade unionists working at the Drummond facilities in Colombia,” states the complaint.

According to the plaintiffs, two union leaders, Valmore Lacarno and Victor Orcasita, were hauled off a company bus by paramilitary gunmen hired by Drummond. Lacarno was shot in the head several times in front of other workers and the corpse of his colleague was later found on the roadside.

Both had been involved in contract disputes with Drummond for about a year before their murder. Seven months later, Gustavo Soler, the president of Sintramienergética, the Colombian mining union, was also killed.

The union leaders “were ultimately murdered by paramilitary employees and or agents working for the defendants [Drummond] to eliminate effective leaders of the trade union representing Drummond workers, and to intimidate other workers from joining the union or assuming a union leadership position,” the complaint alleges.

The plaintiffs, who represent the families of the murdered union leaders, also claim that Drummond provided local militias with fuel, food and transport.

Plaintiff lawyers have collected affidavits from witnesses who used to work at the Drummond mine, including a US Vietnam-war veteran, a mine supervisor and a Colombian army sergeant.

Last week the US Court of Appeal ruled that sworn testimonies from several key witnesses central to the plaintiffs’ case would not be permitted in court because they were submitted too late.

However, Dan Kovalik, a United Steelworkers lawyer representing the victims’ families, remains “optimistic” that the court will award compensation payments to the families. “We have other witnesses, we’ve got a good case,” he said.

Drummond, a leading foreign investor in Colombia, has denied the accusations.

“The allegations are completely without merit and have no basis in facts. We look forward to proving our innocence in the court of law,” it said. When asked for further comment, the company said it could not comment “on the specifics of the case”.

The allegations come at a time when the Colombian government is embroiled in a scandal that links militias with the country’s politicians.

The case has attracted attention from US Democrats, who have refused to approve a proposed bilateral trade deal, citing concerns over the murder of union activists and alleged links between the Colombian army and paramilitaries.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007