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Chiquita funded death squads in colombia { June 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/19/ap3931804.htmlhttp://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/19/ap3931804.html
Associated Press
Lawsuit: Chiquita Funded Terror Groups
By JEFFREY GOLD 07.19.07, 12:17 PM ET
NEWARK, N.J. -
Relatives of people said to be murdered by paramilitary groups in Colombia on Thursday sued Chiquita Brands International Inc., accusing the banana company of funding terrorists.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Trenton, came four months after the Cincinnati-based Chiquita admitted it paid such groups $1.7 million in protection money over six years to protect its most profitable banana-growing operation.
The lawsuit was brought on behalf of at least six alleged victims by EarthRights International, a human rights group, and seeks unspecified monetary damages for the families. It was filed in New Jersey because the company is incorporated in the state, EarthRights legal director Marco Simons said.
It is at least the third such lawsuit since Chiquita entered into the plea agreement with U.S. officials.
The group said, "Chiquita's involvement violates not only Colombian law and U.S. law, but also international law prohibiting crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killing, torture, war crimes, and other abuses."
Company spokesman Michael Mitchell said he could not discuss specifics in the lawsuit, but added, "Suits of this nature are without merit, and we'll certainly defend ourselves vigorously."
The company, one of the world's largest distributors of bananas and other fresh fruits and packaged salads, awaits sentencing on its March 19 guilty plea to one count of doing business with a terrorist organization. Its deal with prosecutors calls for a $25 million fine and does not identify the several senior executives who approved the illegal protection payments.
The agreement, in U.S. District Court in Washington, ended a lengthy Justice Department investigation into the company's financial dealings with right-wing paramilitaries and leftist rebels the U.S. government deems terrorist groups.
Prosecutors in that case said Chiquita agreed to pay about $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC for its Spanish initials.
The AUC has been responsible for some of the worst massacres in Colombia's civil conflict and for a sizable percentage of the country's cocaine exports. The U.S. government designated the AUC a terrorist group in September 2001.
In addition to paying the AUC, prosecutors have said, Chiquita made payments to the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, as control of the company's banana-growing area shifted.
Chiquita maintains it make the payments only to ensure the safety of its workers.
"These are payments that the company was forced to make to protect the lives and safety of our employees," Mitchell said. "We would categorically deny that the payments were made for any other purpose."
In 2006, the company reported a loss of $95.9 million, or $2.28 per share, compared with a profit of $131.4 million, or $2.92 per share, in 2005. Revenue increased to $4.5 billion compared with $3.9 billion in 2005.
EarthRights International is a Washington-based nonprofit which said its members include human rights lawyers.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press.
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