The Colombian Triangle

Rogers, who spends much of his time coordinating the nationwide boycott of Coca-Cola, sees the development as another blow against the company among others as of late. The City University of New York Law School recently kicked Coca-Cola off its campus, like many other campuses in the U.S. have done. “I know that there’s a lot more,” he said referring to issues that the boycott movement could exploit. “I know we could cause great harm.” 

This case also comes at a time when the Colombian Administrative Department of Security (DAS)  has been exposed for supplying vital information and assistance to the right-wing paramilitary group, United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Officials in a government department (DAS) devoted to protecting people like factory workers instead aided and abetted in this violence. This collusion has been a major scandal in the country and the focus of many human rights organizations. 

Regardless of these issues, the company believes this current lawsuit is an attempt to open a closed case. “The death of Mr. Munera is a tragedy that is unrelated to his employment,” said Kerry Kerr, a spokesperson for the company. “His murderer was convicted and is currently in prison serving a 17year sentence.” There is also the sentiment that things are improving in Colombia. “The new head [of DAS] is reported to be honest and has fired 70 employees,” said Heather Hanson, director of the U.S. Office on Colombia, a nonprofit organization in Washington. 

Munera, who was killed in 2002, was the last union leader at a Coca-Cola plant to be murdered, according to the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke. But paramilitary groups continue to harass Coca-Cola workers. In September 2005 Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, also a member of the Colombian food workers union and a former Nestle worker, was murdered in Valledupar. 

Rogers believes that the fate of Coca-Cola workers is intertwined with the nation’s troubled political situation. Colombia is one of the most dangerous nations for labor activists and the nation has been the recipient of billions of U.S. aid dollars. “There is a symbiotic relationship between the paramilitaries, the government, and multinationals like Coca-Cola,” Rogers said. 

Kovalik agreed that while the lawsuit names Coca-Cola as a defendant there is also a greater issue at hand. The overall situation, he said, “calls into grave question the propriety of the U.S.’s continued commitment to aid for the Colombian military forces.”