Top Colombian executive for coal company denies paying for murders of union leaders

Source: Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama: The top Colombian executive of an Alabama coal company being sued over the slayings of three labor leaders in the South American country denied suggestions Monday that he paid paramilitary forces to kill the men or that he had any reason to want them dead.

Augusto Jimenez, president of Drummond Ltd., testified that the company and the union generally got along, contrary to claims by union leaders who told of souring relations and personal threats before the killings. Jimenez denied threatening anyone.

Relatives of the dead men and their union contend Jimenez paid right-wing paramilitaries to murder the men, and plaintiffs attorney Dennis Pantazis asked Jimenez if he had ever paid a militia leader known as "Jorge 40" for anything.

"Absolutely not," he said.

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/23/america/NA-GEN-US-Colombia-Coal-Killings.php

I have actually been involved in a little of that kind of business.

Mid-70s, Papua, New Guinea, FreePort MacMoran.

Bidness as usual.

to both the rebels and the paras. whether this company paid to have someone killed I am not sure. but extortion is a common tactic.

Never believe anything until it's been officially denied.

walking out of Drummond offices:

Gangster `Jorge 40' dominates testimony
Saturday, July 21, 2007
RUSSELL HUBBARD
News staff writer

The second week of the Drummond trial ended Friday with a former mining supervisor saying he saw a notorious gang leader leaving an office in Colombia that was affiliated with the company.

Victor Marenco said he saw a man known as "Jorge 40" leaving the office of Jaime Blanco, who owned the company that catered meals at Drummond canteens. The man, whose real name is Rodrigo Tovar, commanded a large paramilitary unit in the federal state of Cesar, where Drummond operates a 3,700-employ surface coal mine in a remote area.

"I never saw such a spectacle in all my life," Marenco said of Jorge 40 and his retinue of armed followers.

The Colombian mining union and the families of three labor leaders slain in 2001 are suing Drummond in U.S. District Court in Birmingham. They said in their civil lawsuit the Birmingham-based coal mine operator paid right-wing gunmen to kill the union bosses.

Jorge 40 was a prominent figure in Colombia, whose newspapers and media outlets often feature stories about militia leaders who are known to murder, extort and deal drugs. He is in custody after agreeing in 2006 to fold his 2,500-strong private army in return for a lessened sentence. Later that year, he came again to prominence when police found his notebook computer, which contained details on more than 500 murders he ordered.

More:
http://www.al.com/business/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/business/1185007690186400.xml&coll=2

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http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2925581