Guatemalan Banana Union Leader Murdered
Masked gunmen murdered Guatemalan union leader Marco Tulio Ramírez Portela early in the morning of September 23 as he
was leaving his home for work. Marco Tulio was secretary of sports and culture of the banana workers union SITRABI,
which organizes Del Monte workers. His brother, Noé Antonio Ramírez Portela,is the union general secretary.
Tulio's murder follows a pattern of rising anti-union violence and institutional impunity in Guatemala. In July, the
SITRABI headquarters was raided by uniformed soldiers using official vehicles, who demanded information on union
officers and members. The union filed a full report with the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Special Unit for Crimes
against Unionists and Journalists.
The IUF has called on the Guatemalan government to immediately undertake a full and open investigation into this latest
union assassination. You can support the struggle against immunity.
ENDS