Lawyer for Chiquita in Colombia Death Squad Case May be Next U.S. Attorney General

[struggle4progress]

Dan Kovalik
Posted November 6, 2008 | 05:12 PM (EST)

In its recent report entitled, "Breaking the Grip? Obstacles to Justice for Paramilitary Mafias in Colombia," Human Rights Watch (HRW) had specific recommendations for the U.S. Department of Justice. Specifically, HRW recommended that, in order to assist with the process of ending the ties between the Colombian government and paramilitary death squads, the U.S. Department of Justice should, among other things, "reate meaningful legal incentives for paramilitary leaders to fully disclose information about atrocities and name all Colombian or foreign officials, business or individuals who may have facilitated their criminal activities," and "ollaborate actively with the efforts of Colombian justice officials who are investigating paramilitary networks in Colombia by sharing relevant information possible and granting them access to paramilitary leaders in U.S. custody."

Do not expect these recommendations to be carried forward if Eric Holder decides to forgo his lucrative corporate law practice at Covington & Burling and accept the U.S. Attorney General position for which many believe he is the top contendor. Eric Holder would have a troubling conflict of interest in carrying out this work in light of his current work as defense lawyer for Chiquita Brands international in a case in which Colombian plaintiffs seek damages for the murders carried out by the AUC paramilitaries - a designated terrorist organization. Chiquita has already admitted in a criminal case that it paid the AUC around $1.7 million in a 7-year period and that it further provided the AUC with a cache of machine guns as well ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/lawyer-for-chiquita-in-co_b_141919.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Oh, jeez. Can't believe this! Someone needs more information on US policy and its effects.

Thanks so much for posting this. Sure want to keep eyes open to see if there's any organized movement, petition, etc., so people can have their voices heard.

From the article you posted:

In addition to Chiquita, Holder's firm has also represented such notable corporate wrongdoers as Halliburton and the Southern Peru Copper Corporation. And, while Holder is also known to be actively involved in laudable charitable activities, it should be of grave concern to those, like myself, who hope for change from the new Obama Administration, that the new Attorney General would be involved in defending corporations against serious corruption and human rights charges. That is not the type of Attorney General we need in the wake of the recent economic collapse created by the unfettered greed of such corporate firms.

Unbelievable, isn't it?

Oh, my God! It's THIS guy. Can you believe it? We've seen his photo around many times!



Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick.

Which way are we headed, here, anyway? Holy ####!

[Bacchus39]

2. entirely predicatable. there is no satisfying you.

John Adams defended the British soldiers implicated in the Boston Massacre based on the principle that everyone deserves a proper defense. all you have is allegation. your efforts may be better appreciated on latinaprensa or Venanalysis.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Obama Asked to Drop Eric Holder From Veep Selection Committee Because of Role in...

Obama Asked to Drop Eric Holder From Veep Selection Committee Because of Role
in Health Care Task Force Cover-Up

FALLS CHURCH, Va., June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Legal and
Policy Center (NLPC), a plaintiff in the successful 1993 lawsuit to open the
meetings and records of Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care task force, today
asked Barack Obama to dismiss Eric Holder from his Vice-Presidential selection
committee.

According to NLPC President Peter Flaherty, "Holder is not ethically qualified
to serve on the Vice-Presidential selection committee. His track record is not
one of independence or objectivity. Instead, he has been guided by politics
and self-interest."

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS157050+24-Jun-2008+PRN20080624

~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Banana War
by Kevin Gray October 2007 Issue

For years, Chiquita Brands secretly paid off death squads in Colombia. Now the U.S. Congress is asking questions, and Chiquita may not be the only U.S. company tangled up in the South American jungle.

It was here, in northern Colombia’s lush banana-growing region, that Chiquita Brands International, the $655 million fruit giant, slipped into a blood-soaked scandal. Between 1997 and 2004, Chiquita gave $1.7 million to the A.U.C., whose death squads destroyed unions, terrorized workers, and killed thousands of civilians. Chiquita’s top officials ­admit approving the payments but say they thought that if they didn’t pay up, the A.U.C. would kill its employees and attack its facilities. Because the U.S. State Department has labeled the A.U.C. a terrorist organization, federal prosecutors charged Chiquita in March with engaging in transactions with terrorists. In an agreement with the Justice Department, Chiquita pleaded guilty and will pay a $25 million fine.

But the company’s troubles haven’t ended there. The Justice Department has been investigating the half-dozen executives who approved the payments and is weighing the possibility of charging them as individuals. At press time, Chiquita lawyers expected prosecutors to present their findings to a federal judge by September 17, when the company was to be formally sentenced.

Among those being investigated are former Chiquita chief executive Cyrus Freidheim Jr. (now C.E.O. of Sun-Times Media Group) and former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Roderick Hills, who served on Chiquita’s board and is married to Carla Hills, who served as the United States trade representative under President George H.W. Bush. (Freidheim and Hills declined to discuss the case.) In addition, Colombia’s attorney general, Mario Iguarán, has vowed to extradite Chiquita officials who authorized the payments to face charges in Colombia. “This was a criminal relationship,” Iguarán has said, that led to “the bloody pacification of Urabá.”

Chiquita also faces three civil suits that have been filed in U.S. courts. Terry Collingsworth, general counsel for the Washington-based International Rights Advocates, has filed the largest, on behalf of the families of 174 A.U.C. victims. Collingsworth, who forced oil giant Unocal into a reported $30 million settlement in a case regarding human-rights abuse in Burma in 2004, says, “I would be delighted to get a punitive-damage award that would put Chiquita out of business.”

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