...A group of powerful U.S. organizations demanded the immediate release of imprisoned Mexican labor lawyer Susana Prieto Terrazas, who was arrested on June 8 on trumped-up charges for “mutiny, threats and coercion.” Prieto’s daughter delivered a letter from the groups to the Mexican National Human Rights Commission today.

Prieto, an advocate for labor rights of workers in maquiladora factories near the Mexico-U.S. border, has defended workers who are protesting for improved safety measures against COVID-19 in reopened plants. Dozens of maquiladora workers have died after being exposed to the coronavirus. She recently sought to register a new independent union to replace a company-connected “protection” union. This is a core protection guaranteed by the revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Mexico’s 2019 revised national labor law.

The arrest of Prieto and punitive bail denials that threaten her life given the high incidence of COVID-19 in collective settings such as jails, spotlights the ongoing labor rights crisis in Mexico. Growing focus on Prieto’s detention is overshadowing the July 1 start date of the revised NAFTA.

Members of Congress raised concerns about Prieto’s imprisonment to USTR Robert Lighthizer during a congressional hearing on June 17. Lighthizer said he was closely monitoring the case, “take[s] this very seriously,” found it to be a “bad indicator” of compliance with the new labor standards, hoped “[Mexico] can work it out themselves” but that “we’ll take action if appropriate.”...