WikiLeaks: McDonald's used US to press El Salvador

McDonald's tried to delay the US government's implementation of the Cafta free-trade agreement in order to put pressure on El Salvador to appoint neutral judges in a $24 million lawsuit it was fighting in the country.

The revelation of the McDonald's strategy to ensure a fair hearing for a long-running legal battle against a former franchisee comes from a leaked US embassy cable dated 15 February 2006.

Five days earlier, the firms's vice-president for government relations had briefed the US ambassador on their efforts to get the case settled.

Original source: The Guardian