Hoffa Seeks Probe of Teamster Killing
Associated Press

November 10, 2004, 8:40 PM EST

WASHINGTON -- Teamsters President James P. Hoffa on Wednesday asked Secretary of State Colin Powell to pressure El Salvador to investigate the killing last week of a member who was trying to unionize port workers.

Teamster Jose Gilberto Soto, 49, was shot in the back and killed Friday in Usulutan, El Salvador. Hoffa said police there have done little to apprehend "what appears to be a death squad" that killed Soto.

"We urge you to demand that the government of El Salvador initiate an intensive manhunt (to) capture and bring the murderers to trial," Hoffa's letter said.

Soto, an American citizen and resident of Cliffside Park, N.J., arrived in El Salvador on Oct. 30 to meet with the country's trade union leaders and port drivers.

"We are concerned that Mr. Soto's murder is related to his leadership position with the Teamsters and his intention" to meet with labor leaders and port drivers in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras, Hoffa's letter said.

Soto was shot in the back in front of his mother's home, and witnesses saw three men, including one on a bicycle, Hoffa said.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

Note: Picked up by at least 41 papers in the US and UK.

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