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TOLEDO BLADE June 20, 2008
Mexican officials pressed on FLOC worker's slaying
Mr. Cruz, 29, was slain April, 2007, in the FLOC office in Monterrey. A staff field organizer for the union, he moved to Monterrey from Toledo in February, 2007.
Union officials believe the killing was an assassination related to Mr. Cruz's work for the union. Mr. Cruz was found bound and beaten to death.
"They could have murdered Santiago anywhere in the city … but they chose to do this very wanton, physical act - they tied him up and they beat him to death - inside our office," Baldemar Velasquez, FLOC president, said. "They wanted to send a message." About six weeks after the killing, the office was renamed the Santiago Rafael Cruz Justice Center.
The union tries to protect the rights of agricultural workers who come to the United States under H2A visas to harvest crops.
By doing so, union officials said, they have angered recruiters who would charge workers exorbitant fees. They believe someone who was profiting from such fees is behind the killing.
At a meeting today in Mexico City, Mr. Velasquez and FLOC's attorneys will be able to question Mexican officials who must report on the murder investigation's progress as mandated by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Today's meeting is one of several that have taken place.
Since Mr. Cruz's murder, one of the killers has been sentenced to prison, but several others suspected of being involved remain at large, Mr. Velasquez said.
"Our attorneys won't let them off the hook until they pursue these leads," Mr. Velasquez said.
Additionally, one of FLOC's Mexican attorneys will visiting Toledo in the fall to do research in the case, and the union plans to use his visit to bring further attention to the murder.
Mr. Velasquez has expressed frustration with how the Mexican authorities have handled the investigation, especially when authorities said they believed Mr. Cruz's death was the result of a dispute between two unions - an idea Mr. Velasquez dismissed as ridiculous. Mexico's criminal justice system is plagued by human rights problems, according to a report this year by Human Rights Watch.
"Law enforcement officials often neglect to investigate and prosecute those responsible for human rights violations. … The criminal justice system routinely fails to provide justice to victims of violent crime and human rights violations," the report stated.
Another human rights organization, Amnesty International, has highlighted the case and asked its members to write letters to Mexican officials calling for a full investigation and requesting protection for FLOC officials.
Because of pressure from the union as well as other labor leaders and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), additional safety measures have been implemented since the murder.
The state police make regular visits to the FLOC office, there are security cameras there, and FLOC staff members have cell phones provided by the Mexican government with emergency numbers programmed into them, Mr. Velasquez said.
Friends described Mr. Cruz as someone who was energetic, happy, and outgoing - while at the same time committed to the serious work of fighting for the rights of workers and immigrants.
"He was a very happy person," said Marisa Gonzalez, a friend of Mr. Cruz. "He would get people going. As soon as you saw him, you would smile. … He hadn't said a word, and you were already laughing." She added, "He saw what they were doing to migrants. The abuse, the neglect, all of that. He wanted a change. … It was not an easy job."
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