Migrant Rights Group Seeks Protection

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A labor rights group that helps Mexicans seeking temporary work visas in the U.S. asked Mexico's federal government for support Thursday because an employee was killed last month at its offices in northern Mexico.

The body of Santiago Rafael Cruz was found April 9 at the Monterrey office of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, an Ohio-based union that fights for the rights of migrant guest workers in the eastern United States.

The killing has prompted staff members in Mexico to scale back their activities for fear of attacks, said Castro Benavides, head of the office, at a news conference in Mexico City.

The Nuevo Leon state prosecutor's office has reported no arrests or leads in the case. A spokesman there was not available for comment.

Baldemar Velasquez, secretary-general of the rights group, said that there had been an "atmosphere of animosity against us" since the Mexico office opened in 2005 and began fighting abuses by Mexican recruiters who often overcharge migrants to process temporary visas.

Union officials believe the killing was not a robbery because nothing was missing. They suspect Cruz's death was related to the union's work.

The union asked the federal government to provide it with satellite phones for trips to meet migrants in remote areas and for a closed video circuit to monitor who comes and goes from the office. They also want federal authorities to pressure state officials to do more in investigating the homicide.

On the Net:

Farm Labor Organizing Committee: http://www.floc.com

 Related Images
 Related Polls
 Related Trivia
 Celebrity Gossip

Mexicans, Mexico, Santiago, Rafael, Cruz,
MEXICO, RIGHTS, WORKER, KILLED, Central and South America,
world americas mexico, world top, World News,