On September 1, 2017, two armed men on a motorcycle fired at Tomás Francisco Ochoa Salazar, secretary for the Bremen Union (SITRABREMEN), and Andy Noel Godínez, another SITRABREMEN member, as they were leaving the meat-processing plant where they worked. Tomas was killed and Andy survived, suffering non-life-threatening injuries. Local civil society says this attack is emblematic of the impunity that allows trade unionists and other human rights defenders to be threatened, silenced, and murdered without fear of consequences. SITRABREMEN filed for official recognition in July 2016, receiving notice of its acceptance by the Labor Ministry in February of 2017. What followed, according to the union, was a campaign of retaliation, suspensions and harassment of union leaders and members.