The main story this week is the assassination of Milton Enrique Rivas, a union leader in Termotécnica, a Cepsa subcontractor in Puerto Gaitan, Meta. The USO has been trying to widen the conflict to include both Ecopetrol and Pacific Rubiales to no avail. Local authorities and the company blame union member for Rivas’ murder which – whether true or not – only raises tensions. This unfortunate death will have wider implications since Colombia’s black mark is a high rate of assassinations of union leaders, which obviously gets the attention of international labor groups, NGOs and even the Democratic Party in the US: