Four union leaders associated with Gildan Activewear (PPAI 250187, S13) were among the 13 people killed in a pool hall shooting in Choloma, a manufacturing city in Honduras, on June 24, Sourcing Journal reported.

The Crime And Response

The victims included ​​Xiomara Cocas – president of Sindicato de Trabajadores de Gildan San Miguel, which represents workers at Gildan Activewear’s San Miguel plant – and fellow union members Delmer Garcia, Lesther Almendarez and José Rufino Ortiz. Cocas’ son, Eduardo Melendez, also died in the shooting, according to Sourcing Journal.

Labeling the incident as a “brutal and ruthless terrorist attack,” President Xiomara Castro declared a 15-day curfew in Choloma from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. A similar curfew has been enacted in nearby San Pedro Sula, effective July 4.

In a series of tweets, Castro blamed the deaths on “hired thugs trained and directed by drug lords” in the northern Sula Valley, adding that “multiple operations, raids, captures and checkpoints are initiated.” Furthermore, Castro’s administration has offered a reward of 800,000 Lempiras ($32,325) for those who facilitate the capture of the killers.

The Situation

As of Monday, authorities detained at least one suspect, according to National Police Commissioner Miguel Pérez Suazo. “We do not rule out these crimes could be some sort of revenge for what happened in the women’s prison,” Pérez Suazo says.

On June 20, gang members in a Honduras women’s prison slaughtered 46 fellow inmates with machetes and gunfire, and then setting the rest of the survivors ablaze, The Associated Press reported.

According to police, the detained suspect is allegedly a member of Barrio 18, a dangerous gang which claims Choloma as its home turf. Relatives said inmates at the facility had been threatened for weeks by Barrio 18 members, The Associated Press reported.

“We also do not rule out that it could have been some type of revenge by criminals against civilians,” Pérez Suazo says.

One week before the shooting, Montreal-based Gildan, No. 38 on PPAI 100’s ranking of industry suppliers and one of the few apparel manufacturers to own and operate its own facilities, announced the closure of its San Miguel textile plant. The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the world’s largest trade union federation, suggested that the deaths could be linked to “false rumors” that the union was responsible for the plant’s closure.

Meanwhile, the union had been negotiating with Gildan management about the closure, which will leave roughly 2,700 workers unemployed, according to Solidarity Center, an international workers’ rights organization.

“The Solidarity Center encourages Gildan to recognize the impact of these murders on the union and the workforce in general, and to take stronger measures to ensure the safety and security of Gildan San Miguel workers as they return to work following this tragic event,” the organization says in a statement.