VZCZCXRO8009
PP RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHM RUEHHO RUEHJO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHPOD
RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #2254/01 1272008
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 072008Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6776
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHXI/LABOR COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MEXICO 002254 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/AWH AND ILCSR, WHA/MEX AND PPC, USDOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB KFRD PGOV PHUM PINR CVIS MX
SUBJECT: MISSION MEXICO CONTINUES TO MONTIOR MURDER OF 
LABOR ORGANIZER 
 
REF: MONTERREY 0430 (NOTAL) 
 
 ¶1.  SUMMARY: Mission Mexico personnel have continued their 
efforts to monitor the situation surrounding the recent 
murder in Monterrey of agricultural worker labor union 
organizer Santiago Rafael Cruz. Embassy Mexico City,s Labor 
Counselor and AmConsul Monterrey,s Pol/Econ Officer visited 
the FLOC (Farm Labor Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO) offices 
and met with US and Mexican union representatives the week of 
4/30 ) 5/4 to convey the USG,s interest in this case.  The 
FLOC representatives reiterated the union,s belief that 
Rafael was murdered because of his organizing activities but 
had no real idea as to who might have ordered his death. They 
also outlined the latest efforts to press for a full 
investigation into the slaying of their colleague. In 
addition, the two officials also talked generally about the 
FLOC,s successes in obtaining improved working conditions 
for farm laborers.  Throughout the meeting both FLOC 
officials expressed their organization,s deep appreciation 
for AmConsul Monterrey,s quick reaction and for Mission 
Mexico,s sustained support as the union continues pressing 
to learn what really happened to the murdered labor 
organizer.  FLOC and USG efforts notwithstanding, it is still 
an open question as to whether the murder of Santiago Rafael 
Cruz will ever be resolved.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶2.  On April 9, 2007 Santiago Rafael Cruz, a farm worker 
labor organizer employed by the Farm Labor Organizing 
Committee, AFL-CIO (FLOC), was found beaten to death in the 
union,s offices in Monterrey, Mexico.  Rafael,s job at the 
FLOC office was primarily to advise farm laborers about legal 
employment opportunities in the US with a focus on the H2A 
"guest workers" program.  As a FLOC employee Rafael also 
investigated alleged abuses in labor recruiting agencies and 
helped farm workers resolve grievances arising from their 
employment conditions in the US.  Although there is no 
conclusive evidence linking anyone to the murder of Santiago 
Rafael, the FLOC is convinced that he was murdered because 
its organizing activities angered various labor recruiting 
agencies and agricultural interests.  The FLOC, and the 
broader AFL-CIO, considers Rafael,s murder to be both a 
human and labor rights issue. 
 
¶3. In pursuing this matter the FLOC has met with labor 
figures, business interests, government officials and elected 
representatives in both Mexico and the US (Congresswoman 
Marcy Kaptur, D-OH is particularly interested in this case) 
to press for a full investigation of Rafael,s murder. 
AmConsul Monterrey has worked closely with the FLOC, 
supporting their calls for a thorough inquiry into this crime 
and has met with the highest levels of both state and local 
authorities to express the USG,s interest in resolving this 
case. Consulate personnel in Monterrey have also fielded a 
considerable number of inquiries on this matter both from the 
public and from US and Mexican media outlets.  Thus far it 
appears that state and local authorities have been open and 
honest in keeping AmConsul Monterrey abreast of the 
developments of their ongoing investigation into the murder 
of Santiago Rafael but there seems to be little real 
progress.  Monterrey is also now working closely with the 
FLOC, local authorities and even labor recruiters to combat 
any abuse or irregularities that may be surrounding the H2A 
&guest workers8 program. 
 
 
EXPRESSING THE USG,S CONTINUING INTEREST 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  As a follow-up to the ongoing USG actions reported in 
Reftel, on May 2, Embassy Mexico City,s Labor Counselor and 
AmConsul Monterrey,s Pol/Econ Officer called on the offices 
of the FLOC to express Mission Mexico,s continuing concern 
over the murder of labor organizer Santiago Rafael Cruz and 
request an update on the union,s latest efforts in this 
matters.  Mission personnel were received by the FLOC,s main 
Representative in Monterrey, Castulo Benavides Rodriguez, and 
by Ken Barger, a union Community Organizer visiting from the 
US. Benavides and Barger were unequivocal in expressing the 
FLOC,s sincere thanks for AmConsul Monterrey,s quick 
reaction in this situation and for Mission Mexico,s 
sustained support as the union continues to push for a full 
and complete investigation into what really happened to their 
murdered colleague. 
 
MEXICO 00002254  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
 
FLOC OFFICIAL DISCUSS THE MURDER 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. According to the two FLOC officials, the union was doing 
all it could to press Monterrey area state and local 
authorities to consider every possible facets of the case in 
order to learn the truth about exactly what happened to 
Santiago Rafael.  The union, they said, was not just 
interested in who actually killed the labor organizer, it 
also wanted to know, and ultimately hold accountable, whoever 
might be responsible for ordering the death of Santiago 
Rafael.  In fact, the union officials stated, as a part of 
the ongoing effort to find out what happened to the murdered 
labor organizer, FLOC Union President Baldemar Velasquez was 
en route to Mexico City that very day (May 2) to meet with 
federal GOM (law enforcement/public security) officials to 
discuss the status of the case. They also indicated that the 
FLOC Monterrey office was in the process of 
reviewing/implementing a series of physical safety measures 
and upgrades to better control access and improve the 
security of union staff. 
 
¶6.  In response to direct questions from Mission Mexico 
personnel the FLOC officials indicated that they had no new 
information on the circumstances surround the slaying of 
Santiago Rafael.  Again, in response to a direct question, 
they also admitted that they had received no direct threats 
or warnings about their union organizing activities prior to 
Rafael,s death. They also indicated that they had no real 
idea of who might be responsible for the murder.  This lack 
of any clear idea of who might ultimately be responsible for 
Rafael,s murder notwithstanding, the FLOC officials 
underscored the union,s strong belief that their colleague 
had been killed because of his labor organizing activities. 
 
¶7.  The two officials voiced dissatisfaction with the current 
direction of the police investigation into Rafael,s death. 
Unfortunately, the FLOC officials intimated, the police 
appear to have pre-judged this case and concluded that 
Rafael,s murder was the result of some type of personal 
dispute (i.e., a jealous rival or the parents of girl who 
disapproved of him dating their daughter).  Consequently, in 
FLOC,s view, the police have settled on this preconceived 
conclusion to the near exclusion of any other possible motive 
for Rafael,s murder. 
 
 
FLOC OFFICIALS STATE THE UNION WILL NOT BE DETERRED 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8.  In addition to discussing their views on the status of 
Santiago Rafael,s murder investigation, the two FLOC 
officials also spoke generally about the union,s overall 
goals and activities.  They explained that the aim of FLOC,s 
activities was to provide advice and assistance to farm 
laborers to facilitate (preferably?) legal employment in the 
US.  As proof of the union,s effectiveness they cited two 
FLOC successes (one actually and one potentially) that were 
significantly improving conditions for farm laborers.  The 
first of these was a 2004 agreement with the &North Carolina 
Growers Association8 to represent some 7,000 - 10,000 
workers who annually travel to the state to harvest crops and 
establishes a system for resolving labor disputes. 
 
¶9.  The second FLOC success, with potentially greater 
consequences, was a recent ruling by a US Federal judge in 
North Carolina which eliminated fees charged by labor 
recruiters to find jobs in the US for farm laborers. 
According to the FLOC officials, the basis of the ruling was 
that it was illegal to charge farm workers (as many labor 
recruiters frequently do) for services such as visa 
processing, transportation and administrative overhead, which 
had already been paid for by employers/growers in the US. 
The FLOC officials indicated that the union hoped to use the 
ruling in North Carolina as the basis for expanding similar 
benefits to farm laborers in states like Kentucky, Florida, 
Texas, California and others.  The FLOC officials did not 
specifically state what progress the union has made to date 
in expanding the benefits of the North Carolina ruling to 
places outside of that specific state. They did, however, 
opine that the North Carolina ruling was costing labor 
recruiters some USD 2 million per year in lost fees and 
speculated that this loss of revenue could be a possible 
motive for the murder of Santiago Rafael. 
 
 
MEXICO 00002254  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶10. In the discussion of the FLOC,s overall program 
initiatives Labor Counselor asked if the union had considered 
coordinating its activities with those of the GOM,s Labor 
Secretariat (STPS). The FLOC officials indicated that they 
 
SIPDIS 
have had no real contact with Mexican government officials 
(other than law enforcement officers).  Labor Counselor 
provided the FLOC office with a point of contact in the STPS, 
specifically that Ministry,s Sub-Secretary for Employment 
and Labor Policy, one of whose responsibilities was 
overseeing the smooth (i.e. legal) operation of employment 
programs.  The union officials seemed to conclude that the 
services of this STPS office could be helpful in 
disseminating information about FLOC,s programs and might 
also be a value asset in cracking down on abuse labor 
recruiters. 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶11. The FLOC officials were clearly not satisfied with the 
efforts of the Monterrey area police authorities, 
investigation into the death of labor organizer Santiago 
Rafael Cruz.  In sharp contrast, they seemed very pleased 
with the proactive support the union has received from 
Mission Mexico personnel, particular the staff at AmConsul 
Monterrey.  The frustration of the FLOC officials in this 
unresolved murder case is understandable. Despite its 
physical proximity to the US and the progress Mexico is 
making in many social, political and economic areas, some of 
its institutions are not progressing as well as the Mexicans 
themselves would like. Police forces often fall into this 
category. Many admit that police authorities are hampered by 
(among other serious problems) scant resources and inadequate 
training.  In short, even when there is a real will to find 
those responsible, owing to institutional limitations, it is 
an open question as to whether the murder of Santiago Rafael 
Cruz will ever be solved. 
 
¶12.  This message was cleared with AmConsul Monterrey. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
BASSETT