VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGT #1518/01 2121343
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311343Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY GUATEMALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3425
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS GUATEMALA 001518 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM KDEM KCRM SOCI PGOV GT
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL LABOR DELEGATION CALLS FOR ACTION ON ZAMORA 
MURDER CASE 
 
REF:  GUATEMALA 115 
 
¶1.  Summary:  In a follow-up visit to Guatemala, an international 
labor delegation met with government officials and port authorities 
to press for resolution of the Pedro Zamora murder case (reftel) and 
greater security for union leaders and protection of labor rights at 
Puerto Quetzal.  During a call on the Ambassador, delegation members 
shared their concerns over the Zamora case, lack of transparency in 
the port modernization plan, and threats against port union leaders 
in the aftermath of the union leader's death.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Ambassador and Laboff met July 25 with an international labor 
delegation during its follow-up visit to Guatemala July 22-26. 
Ambassador met with the delegation during its first visit in January 
2007 shortly after the January 15 murder of port union leader Pedro 
Zamora.  The 25-member delegation included representatives of the 
International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), International 
Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), International Longshoremen Workers 
Union (ILWU), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the AFL-CIO, 
Dock Workers Union of Puerto Quetzal (STEPQ), and local federation 
FESTRAS. 
 
¶3.  ITF Secretary General Stuart Howard, head of the delegation, 
commented that they have encountered difficulties in obtaining 
information on the investigation of the Zamora case, and that the 
Congressional Human Rights Committee and the Human Rights 
Ombudsman's Office also complained that the Attorney General's 
Office was not sharing information with them. 
 
¶4.  The delegation was told that the investigation was ongoing but 
that there were no results and no reports on the ballistics evidence 
taken.  Howard said he was concerned that the Attorney General's 
Office might be trying to cover up absence of activity in the 
investigation.  Teamsters representative Tim Beaty explained that 
there were both bureaucratic and technical reasons for the delay in 
the ballistics test, and said they were prepared to offer to the 
Guatemalan government to do the ballistics test. 
 
¶5.  STEPQ Secretary General Lazaro Reyes expressed the union's 
concerns over personal security.  In the aftermath of Zamora's 
murder, he and other STEPQ union leaders have received anonymous 
threats.  While he now has a 24-hour security detail provided by the 
National Civilian Police, his colleagues do not have any protection 
and no one has been apprehended in connection with the threats. 
 
 
¶6.  Reyes also expressed concern over the lack of transparency in 
the modernization of Puerto Quetzal.  He said the process, 
especially with regard to the funding mechanism, has been "very 
anomalous," with a seeming lack of political will by port management 
to make the process more transparent.  He stressed that the union is 
not opposed to port modernization itself but to the way in which it 
is being carried out by the Puerto Quetzal company. 
 
¶7.  Reyes asserted that the company's Board of Directors established 
a trust fund, which would include a portion of the workers' pension 
funds, to finance construction of the new container terminal without 
proper congressional authorization, consultation with union 
representatives, or a thorough feasibility study.  In May 2007, 
Congress suspended the unilaterally established trust fund.  ITF 
Secretary General Howard clarified that the World Bank does not have 
 
SIPDIS 
any direct investment in the port modernization project. 
 
¶8.  Ambassador said that Embassy had discussed the Zamora case with 
senior Guatemalan authorities.  While the results of the 
investigation have not been what we had hoped for, they have not 
been surprising.  He noted that Guatemalan institutions were weak 
and that in individual cases it is difficult to determine whether 
the lack of results is due to incompetence, fear, or corruption. 
Therefore, it is in our interest to make the institutions more 
effective, using a combination of carrots and sticks.  In the case 
of Zamora, he assured the delegation that Embassy would continue to 
press the authorities for results and would follow-up on the 
ballistics issue. 
 
¶9.  FESTRAS representative Francisco Mendoza agreed that the State 
is weak and impunity is widespread, and characterized the Zamora 
case as "a paradigmatic case," which international pressure has 
helped spotlight.  Regarding the port development plan, he, like 
union leader Reyes, asserted that they were not opposed to the 
development of the port, but advocated for open, inclusive dialogue 
among all stakeholders. 
 
¶10.  In closing, Ambassador stressed that the U.S. shares the 
delegation's goals of promoting justice, human rights, freedom to 
organize, and freedom from threats.  He assured them that Embassy 
understands their concerns and is working to help strengthen the 
capacity of government institutions.  He noted that the USG is 
working on advancing approval of CICIG, working very closely with 
government authorities on creating the unified government crime lab 
(INACIF), and planning to participate in the opening of the third 
 
USAID-funded 24-hour court, which signals a positive development in 
the judicial system. 
 
¶11.  Comment:  Six months after the murder of port union leader 
Pedro Zamora, no arrests have been made, despite Embassy and 
international pressure on government authorities to resolve the 
case.  Embassy was told only that the investigation is ongoing and 
that no arrests have been made.  This is hardly surprising in a 
country where lack of prosecutions by the Attorney General's Office 
is a widely voiced complaint, and lack of protection for witnesses 
and endemic corruption are serious deterrents to building any case, 
especially a high-profile murder case.