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Friday, November 16, 2007
Chiquita Faces New Suit Over Paramilitary Funding
Posted by Justin Jeffre
Photo courtesy of here.
Cincinnati’s own fruit giant Chiquita is facing a new lawsuit on behalf of victims of Colombian paramilitaries. Chiquita has already admitted it illegally paid $1.7 million dollars to a right-wing Colombian paramilitary group (death squad) on the U.S. terrorist watch list. On Wednesday, 393 Colombian plaintiffs filed a civil suit seeking $7.86 billion dollars in damages.
Plaintiff attorney Jonathan Reiter says Chiquita should be held accountable for the killings it helped to fund. He says his clients-who will remain anonymous because of fear of reprisals- are seeking “damages for terrorism, war crimes…and wrongful death”.
Jonathan Reiter: “The principle on which this lawsuit has been brought is that when you put money into the hands of terrorists, when you put guns into the hands of terrorists, then you are legally responsible for the atrocities, the murders and the tortures which those terrorists commit.”
Chiquita claims it fell victim to an extortion attempt and made the payments only to protect its employees. In response to the allegations, the company announced, “Chiquita Brands International categorically denies the allegations made by these attorneys. We reiterate that Chiquita and its employees were victims and that the actions taken by the company were always motivated to protect the lives of our employees and their families.”
Michael Mitchell, Chiquita’s director of communications, said, “Our company had been forced to make protection payments to safeguard our workforce. It is absolutely untrue for anyone to suggest that these payments were made for any other purpose.” Adding, “Chiquita has already been the victim of extortion in Colombia. We will not allow ourselves to become extortion victims in the United States.”
But William Acosta, a private investigator hired by the plaintiffs disputed Chiquita’s denials. Acosta says his investigations findings leave no doubt about Chiquita’s complicity. William Acosta: “Most of the victims during our interviews in Colombia always mention Chiquita as being the party which sends people to threaten them.”
In the plea agreement, Chiquita admitted that payments had been given to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC. The AUC was named a terrorist organization by the United States in 2002 and therefore it was a crime to give them money. The lawsuit accuses the company of facilitating shipments of arms to the group. Reiter said one couple refused to sell their banana farm “for pennies” and were killed by AUC, in 2001. He says other murder victims were told to “sell their bananas only to Chiquita.” He added, “They conspired with the AUC, aided and abetted them in a far-reaching conspiracy and plan to control every aspect of banana growing, distribution and sale.”
There’s another lawsuit the company is facing from the relatives of 144 people killed by the death squads. In the March plea agreement, Chiquita agreed to pay a $25 million fine for the payments made by the company’s former banana-producing subsidiary, but none of the money has gone to the families of the victims. During the federal investigation, Chiquita admitted to paying the AUC despite being advised by outside counsel that the payments should stop immediately because they were illegal.
Even if Chiquita is found guilty a bunch of people seem sure they will likely try to slip away from justice on an appeal, so they could escape with just a bruised image once again. Lazy lapdogs in Cincinnati’s corporate media aren’t on the case. Don’t expect Cliff Peale or the Cincinnati Enquirer to shake any trees or ask too many questions of their old friends at Chiquita.
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16 Nov 2007 at 11:46 am | #
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We can’t wait until the partisan lackeys claim your looking at the data wrong on this one !
Oh, in the world of propaganda: SILENCE IS GOLDEN !
Thanks for your efforts !
.
17 Nov 2007 at 05:02 am | #
that is a great picture
17 Nov 2007 at 11:51 am | #
I wonder if they would fund the Clifton Heights Militia?
17 Nov 2007 at 08:44 pm | #
Thanks. The alternate presses are all over this as well as the foreign press. As usual, the Enquirer, instead of putting this on page one, right around this time should predictably rerun the same feel-good story about daddy Carl donating a couple of tax deductible bucks to a local swimming pool, claiming he did it anonymously and doesn’t want any credit. He just loves the kids!
18 Nov 2007 at 07:21 pm | #
This is old news to anyone who reads the on line papers from outside of this city. Just start to read the NY Times, The Tampa Trib., The LA Times, The Wally- and you will find that there is another world out there that we in Cincy are being sheltered from!
I so appreciate the Enquirer for saving me from the REAL news!!!
08 Mar 2010 at 12:31 pm | #
I don’t think TERRORISTS would use a TEC 22. LOL