Download the Peggy Ann Kielland Letter

BEBIDAS Y ALIMENTOS DE URABÁ, S.A. 

Taxpayer ID 880.074.1188 

Apartado Aereo 104 

Carepa Antioquia 

Carpa, April 7, 1997 

Dr. Nora Tovar 

Office of Labor Inspector 22 

City 

Dr. Tovar: 

When I became Manager of Bebidas y Alimentos de Urabá, S.A., the criminal complaint 

against the company pending with your office was brought to my attention. In an effort to 

shed some light on the situation, this letter sets out the complete chain of events that have 

occurred, some as I have experienced them personally, and others as I have been able to 

piece together. 

1. This company was founded in 1979 as a limited company, to contribute to the 

development of a region that appeared to have bright prospects then, and we still believe 

it does. Today the company is a stock corporation that provides more than 80 jobs. 

2. The company is located in the town of Carpa, Urabá Antioqueño, an area that for 

nearly a decade now has been scourged by indiscriminate violence arising out of the 

conflict between the various guerrilla forces, paramilitary forces, the Army and the 

Police. As you surely are aware, this widespread conflict has spared no one. 

3. Since its founding the company has fallen victim to this violence, robberies, extortion, 

theft and burning of trucks, and murders, including those of company Manager Agustín 

Latorre Cervantes in 1990, Enrique Giraldo in April 1994, and Head of Production José 

Libardo Herrera Osorio in December of last year. I myself was kidnapped and held for 15 

days in 1989, simply because I was the Manager of the company. 

4. Under constant threat from guerrillas and paramilitary forces, Plant Manager Ariosto 

Milan Mosquera resigned and immediately left Carpa this past November 28, becoming 

one more displaced person. Prior to him, Mr. Leonardo Gnecco had left the area for 

exactly the same reasons. Faced with this turn of events, José Libardo Herrera Osorio 

took over the running of the plant. 

5. On November 29 the union presented a list of demands, and the workers to whom you 

refer in your letter have not shown up for work since December 5. They first claimed that 

they had a permit from the union, which nobody had requested or granted since the 

company had no Manager at the time. They later claimed that they were under threat. All 

of us living in Urabá could say the same thing. 

Switchboard 823-65-89 • Management Offices 823-65-05 • Purchasing 823-65-04 • Fax 823-65-22





6. In the days that followed, union organization member Isidro Gil Gil was murdered, the 

union headquarters was looted and a band of outlaws began to pressure and harass all 

those working at the company, regardless of whether they belonged to the union. This 

reached such a point that, not only were the workers forced to leave the union, but the 

company's day-to-day operations came to a halt, since there were threats to kill the 

company officers if they transferred money to Bogota for any reason. The payroll clerk 

quit because of this, after being harassed and threatened by this group. 

7. Mr. José Libardo Herrera Osorio reported these events to the authorities. It is said 

locally that he was murdered for doing so. 

8. In September 1995, without legal basis and as a result of intervention and pressure 

from that office, the presidential adviser for Urabá and the Ministry of Labor, the 

company was forced to grant early retirement to eleven (11) of its workers, all of them 

union officials, who said they could not return to the area because they were being 

threatened. The amount of the resulting settlements was one hundred twenty-two million 

four hundred thirty-four thousand pesos (Col$122,434,000) plus one million five hundred 

sixty-six thousand pesos (Col$1,566,000) paid to the union. To pay that amount, the 

company used what little borrowing power it had, was unable to make planned 

investments in its infrastructure, and today is on the brink of bankruptcy. 

9. Of the individuals who retired at that time, more than half are still in the region as 

government employees or as taxi or minibus owners. They are working undisturbed and, 

fortunately, nothing has happened to them. 

10. As you are aware, payroll for the second half of December and the year-end bonus 

were paid with funds from the shareholders. The workers have not returned to work, 

although I do not know on what grounds, since they had no representative to request a 

leave of absence or conduct negotiations (which I am willing to embark upon). From that 

time until today, my first day as Manager, the company has only been able to pay the 

base wages of those working in Carpa, and has not had the wherewithal to pay vendors or 

utility bills. There is only one way for the company to get out of arrears on its 

obligations, and that is to continue producing and try to explain the situation to its 

creditors. 

11. I sought help from the authorities and managed to get into the plant with the aid of the 

Batallón Voltígeros. General Rito Alejo del Rio has ordered an investigation and a hunt 

for those responsible for these acts. On his recommendation I have hired a security 

company after much effort. These same authorities recovered a truck that had been stolen 

and asked for ransom money, which I refused to agree to because it is illegal. Perhaps as 

a result, a few days before Holy Week another one of our trucks that ran the same route 

as the stolen truck was burned. 

The situation is very serious, as you can imagine, so I am asking for your help to 






determine on what basis or legal grounds the workers are not showing up for work 

without leave, while still demanding payment of their wages. I am willing to try to find a 

solution that does not do further damage to the company or harm the workers. I also want 

to state that this company and I are ready to satisfy any and all legal obligations. 

In closing, you may be asking yourself what I am doing in the middle of this dramatic 

situation. I want you to know that I have always had close ties to this place. I live here. 

For the sake of this place I pushed for this bottling plant to be opened here. For its sake I 

am pushing for other development projects. I have taken part in projects to foster 

peaceful coexistence and build a sense of community here. I am going to stay here, and 

for that reason I ask that you act in a timely, impartial, conciliatory and constructive 

manner. 

Cordially, 

/s/ 

Peggy Ann Kielland 

Manager 

cc: 

Minister of Labor 

Vice Minister of Labor

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