RW Death Squad murders man in Colombia

[ck4829]

Colombian trade unionist Luciano Enrique Romero died a slow death. The fired Nestlé factory worker, whose body was found in a paramilitary-controlled area of Colombia a year ago, was tied up, tortured and then stabbed 40 times.

Now Romero's widow, Colombian labor union SINALTRAINAL and the Washington-based International Labor Rights Fund have filed a lawsuit in Miami charging Nestlé USA and Nestlé of Colombia with complicity in his death.

Nestlé USA, headquartered in Glendale, Calif., said in response to questions Friday: ''We have not been served with a copy of the lawsuit, and therefore we have no comment at this time.'' The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Switzerland-based Nestlé SA, the largest food and beverage company in the world.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, charges that Romero was killed by members of Colombia's paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces because the union leader helped expose Nestlé's use of expired milk in its Milo brand drink. The Colombian government later confirmed the 2001 allegations, the lawsuit said.

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