It
seems fair to say that the targeted killing of union members is different than
the targeted killing of a particular racial or ethnic group. Rather than perceiving the victim as
sub-human (as is seen in racial and ethnic “cleansing”), assassins of union
members are in the business of protecting economic interests. In Colombia, they are most often members of
paramilitary (about 41% in 2005, in cases where perpetrators were known) or
state (about 36% in 2005) forces who have some ideological or economic
arrangement with local company managers (the cooperation of the Colombian
government and US companies in these arrangements has gained extensive exposure
recently: the Drummond case is
illustrative.

The
systematic, targeted killing of union members with the participation of state
forces may not be technically called “genocide.” The parallels, however, are so clear that
Rodriguez’s decision to use the word challenges the limitations of the word
rather than calling into question the legitimacy of his statement.