{"id":2265015,"date":"2024-06-11T13:53:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T17:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/banana-group-chiquita-liable-in-death-of-eight-men-ordered-to-pay-38-3-million\/"},"modified":"2024-06-11T13:53:33","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T17:53:33","slug":"banana-group-chiquita-liable-in-death-of-eight-men-ordered-to-pay-38-3-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/banana-group-chiquita-liable-in-death-of-eight-men-ordered-to-pay-38-3-million\/","title":{"rendered":"Chiquita held responsible for the deaths of eight men, ordered to pay $38.3 million"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbanana-group-chiquita-liable-in-death-of-eight-men-ordered-to-pay-38-3-million%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2265015&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Florida jury\u2062 found \u200bChiquita \u2062Brands International \u200dliable for financing the \u2064United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group labeled as a terrorist\u200c organization by the United States during the\u2063 time of the \u200dkillings. The banana conglomerate was ordered to pay $38.3\u200d million in restitution for the wrongful\u2062 deaths of eight men. The victims held \u2063various jobs, including trade unionists and banana workers. The verdict follows Chiquita&#8217;s 2007 guilty plea, in which they admitted to making \u2064$1.7 \u200cmillion in payments to the\u200b AUC from 1997 to 2004, allegedly under threats to their staff and operations in Colombia. The lawsuit was brought forward by the families of the deceased, represented by EarthRights International. Marco\u2062 Simons, a lawyer associated \u200dwith the case, expressed satisfaction with the jury\u2019s decision but highlighted the \u200bgrave nature of the abuses involved.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Florida jury\">Florida jury<\/a> ruled Monday that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chiquita.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Chiquita Brands International\">Chiquita Brands International<\/a>, the banana conglomerate, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/06\/11\/world\/americas\/chiquita-banana-lawsuit-colombia.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Florida jury\">liable<\/a> for financing a paramilitary group in Colombia that killed eight men, and it has been ordered to pay the families $38.3 million in restitution. <\/p>\n<p>The group, the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_Self-Defense_Forces_of_Colombia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia\">United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia<\/a>, was designated by the United States at the time of the killings as a terrorist organization. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Bunches of Chiquita brand bananas are for sale at a grocery store in Zelienople, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 10, 2014. (AP Photo\/Keith Srakocic)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Chiquita, the multinational fruit corporation headquartered in Florida, was found to be responsible for the wrongful deaths of the eight men killed by the AUC.\u00a0The men had different jobs, ranging from trade unionists to banana workers. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re very happy about the jury\u2019s verdict, but you can\u2019t escape that we\u2019re talking about horrific abuses,\u201d Marco Simons, a lawyer for EarthRights International, an environmental and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nick-cannon-viacomcbs-resume-professional-relationship-after-anti-white-anti-semitic-remarks\/\" title=\"Nick Cannon, ViacomCBS Resume Professional Relationship After Anti-White, Anti-Semitic Remarks\">human rights group<\/a>, who represented one family in the legal claim, said. <\/p>\n<p>The case was brought by the families after Chiquita pleaded guilty in 2007 to making payments to the AUC, which has been accused of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbp-prevents-chinese-fishing-company-from-importing-goods-into-u-s-due-to-widespread-human-rights-abuses\/\" title=\"CBP prevents Chinese fishing company from importing goods into U.S. due to widespread human rights abuses\">widespread human rights abuses<\/a> in Colombia. <\/p>\n<p>At that trial, Chiquita said it made $1.7 million in payments to the AUC between 1997 and 2004. The company said it did so after the AUC leader at the time threatened that Chiquita\u2019s staff and property would be harmed or destroyed if the company did not pay up. <\/p>\n<p>Company lawyers argued the banana company had to pay in order to ensure the safety of its staff and property. Plaintiffs countered that the company was in cahoots with the AUC and that the money was for expanding its footprint in a region that was run by the AUC. Regular payments by Chiquita to the AUC took place even after AUC was designated in 2001 as a terrorist organization. <\/p>\n<p>Chiquita has faced hundreds of similar lawsuits in U.S.\u00a0courts filed on behalf of the families of other victims of violence at the hands of the AUC, but Monday\u2019s verdict is the first time the company has been found liable. The landmark decision could influence other suits. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur clients risked their lives to come forward to hold Chiquita to account, putting their faith in the United States justice system,\u201d Agnieszka Fryszman, another attorney on the Florida case, said. <\/p>\n<p>Chiquita said it would appeal. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe situation in Colombia was tragic for so many,\u201d the company said in a statement after the verdict. \u201cHowever, that does not change our belief that there is no legal basis for these claims.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following the verdict, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anal-rape-with-a-stick-bbc-report-details-systemic-rape-in-uighur-concentration-camps\/\" title=\"\u2018Anal Rape With A Stick\u2019: BBC Report Details Systemic Rape In Uighur Concentration Camps\">human rights groups<\/a> in Colombia celebrated the win. <\/p>\n<p>Gerardo Vega, the former director of Colombia\u2019s National Land Agency, which is responsible for returning land to people who were displaced by force, said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GerardoVegaMed\/status\/1800286766470930866\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a> statement that the ruling was a vindication of the fight against impunity in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER \">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Colombian justice system should also act,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need Colombian judges to convict the businesspeople who, just like Chiquita, were paying\u201d paramilitary groups.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Florida jury found Chiquita Brands International liable for funding a Colombian paramilitary group responsible for killing eight men. The banana giant must pay $38.3 million to the victims&#8217; families. The group involved was the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. at the time<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2265016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP819248800478.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2265015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AP819248800478.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2265015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2265015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2265016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2265015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2265015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2265015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}