Reply #9: Ala. Jury Hears Colombia Killings Case [View All]

Ala. Jury Hears Colombia Killings Case

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: July 11, 2007
Filed at 3:19 p.m. ET

~snip~
The union has presented affidavits to the court from two people who say they were present when Drummond's chief executive in Colombia, Augusto Jimenez, handed over a large sum of cash to representatives of the local paramilitary warlord for the killings of Locarno and Orcasita. Drummond denies the claims.

The first plaintiff's witness, former Drummond employee George Mack Pierce of Yuma, Ariz., said the company had a ''hostile attitude'' toward the union.

Pierce said he once heard Jimenez say ''A fish that swims with its mouth open soon dies'' when asked about union negotiations.

Rusty Johnson, an attorney for the men's relatives and union, said in his opening statement that witnesses will testify that paramilitary forces were spotted on Drummond property and used its gasoline.

''They chose a side in the war. They chose the paramilitaries. It was a natural alliance,'' Johnson said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Colombia-Coal-Killings.html?_r=1&oref=slogin