On Sunday, June 6 at 10 p.m., hundreds of state and federal police stormed the gates of the Mexican Cananea copper mine and forced an end to a more than 1,000-day strike. Tear gas and batons were used to drive the striking miners out of the entrances of the mine. Miners resisted with sticks and by throwing stones, but they were no match for the heavily armed police, who used helicopters and large amounts of tear gas. More than 400 people were also attacked with tear gas in the union hall, including women and children. According to an eyewitness, the police had attempted to trap the people in the building, but they were able to escape from fire exits at the rear of the hall. The mine is located in Cananea, Mexico, near the Arizona border. More than 1,000 members of the National Union of Mine & Metal Workers have been on strike since July 30, 2007. The strike was primarily about health and safety issues. The following interview with one of the leaders of the union was conducted while he was visiting Detroit on April 25.

Jacinto Martinez Serna in a heavy machine operator, a member of the executive board of the Miners Union in Cananea and the Secretary of Democratic Tire Workers Cooperative, Mexico.