Jose Ortega

On October 20, 1998, Jorge Ortega was murdered outside his home in Bogota, Colombia, one of several participants in the National Strike Command of the Public Workers Strike to fall victim the violent reaction of the military. Dedicating a large portion of his life to the rights of Colombia's workers, Ortega served as a leader of the Sindicato de Trabajadores del Sector Electríco (electricity workers union), as well as the First Vice-President of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores (CUT). At the same time, he played an active role as a representative of the workers in the Permanent Assembly for Peace and led the CUT Human Rights Department. In this capacity, he repeatedly demanded protective measures and guarantees for workers from the Colombian government, and advocated the investigation of murder, forced disappearances, tortures and threats suffered by Colombian trade unionists. Ortega's actions caused him to live under constant threat to himself and his family. In 1994, he suffered three months of arbitrary detention, and on several occasions, he was forced to leave the country for fear of his safety. One month prior to his death, an illegal raid was made on Ortega's home, in which his wife was gagged and beaten, and their belongings destroyed. Despite these incidents, continual requests for protection were met with inaction by the Colombian government, leading Ortega to identify the Colombian government as the only and exclusive party responsible for any attempt on his life. Since Ortega's death in 1998, conditions remain grave in Colombia, where more than 170 trade unionists were murdered in 2001 alone.