Multinational accused of massacres in Colombia

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Friday, 02.27.09
Multinational accused of massacres in Colombia

A decision is pending on whether to dismiss lawsuits against Chiquita that claim the banana company paid Colombian paramilitaries to kill scores of people.

By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH -- Chiquita Brands International asked a judge Friday to dismiss lawsuits claiming the banana company paid Colombian paramilitary groups who killed hundreds or even thousands of people.

Lawyers for Chiquita insisted that the money it paid over a seven-year period to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia had no direct connection to massacres, kidnappings, assassinations and acts of intimidation committed by the group in banana-growing regions.

''There are no allegations that Chiquita was directly involved in any of these incidents,'' said Gregg Levy, an attorney for Cincinnati-based Chiquita.

The company acknowledges a subsidiary had paid the right-wing paramilitary group -- known by its Spanish acronym AUC -- and another group. But its lawyers contend the company was essentially extorted by the groups that controlled areas where its bananas are grown.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/925525.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Judge hears motion to dismiss in Chiquita lawsuit

Judge hears motion to dismiss in Chiquita lawsuit
Listen to this article or download audio file.Click-2-Listen

By Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, February 27, 2009

By JANE MUSGRAVE

WEST PALM BEACH - Chiquita Brands International not only paid $1.7 million to a Colombian para-military organization that tortured and murdered thousands of civilians, it sold arms to the group and cleared the way for shipments of cocaine that were used to fund its atrocities, a lawyer told a federal judge on Friday.

In a hearing before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra, attorneys representing the victims of violence in the war-torn nation squared off against attorneys for the banana-producing giant. Chiquita attorneys argued that the Cincinnati-based company can't be held legally responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Colombians or American missionaries that went to the South American country to help.

"There is no dispute that from 1998 to 2004, Chiquita's former Colombian subsidiary made payments to the groups," said Gregg Levy, one of a team of attorneys who asked Marra to dismiss the six wrongful death lawsuits.

The company in 2007 pleaded guilty to doing business with a terrorist organization and agreed to pay a $25 million fine for paying the right-wing Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia.

More:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/02/27/chiquita0228.html

[Judi Lynn]

2. Chiquita seeks dismissal of Colombia death lawsuit

Chiquita seeks dismissal of Colombia death lawsuit
By CURT ANDERSON
AP Legal Affairs Writer

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Chiquita Brands International asked a judge Friday to dismiss lawsuits claiming the banana company paid Colombian paramilitary groups that killed hundreds or even thousands of people.

Lawyers for Chiquita insisted that the money it paid over a seven-year period to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia had no direct connection to massacres, kidnappings, assassinations and acts of intimidation committed by the group in banana-growing regions.

"There are no allegations that Chiquita was directly involved in any of these incidents," said Gregg Levy, an attorney for Cincinnati-based Chiquita.

The company acknowledges a subsidiary had paid the right-wing paramilitary group — known by its Spanish acronym AUC — and another group. But its lawyers contend the company was essentially extorted by the groups that controlled areas where its bananas are grown.

But lawyers for the Colombian plaintiffs claim in the lawsuits that Chiquita should be held liable for billions of dollars in wrongful death damages, alleging it paid both the AUC and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The U.S. lists both as terrorist groups.

"The AUC was engaging in murder, torture, forced disappearances and destruction of these communities," said Terry Collingsworth, representing family members of about 173 people who died. "Everybody knew this. Chiquita knew it."

The lawsuits claim Chiquita should be held liable for allegedly providing material support to the AUC in the form of cash, weapons such as AK-47s, military supplies and even access to its banana ports for cocaine trafficking.

More:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/shared-gen/ap/Finance_General/Bananas_Terrorism.html

[Peace Patriot]

3. I wonder where that $25 million fine money went. That was the Bushwhacks'

contrivance to make these charges against Chiquita execs go away, and it was negotiated for Chiquita by none other than our new U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Who got the money? The court? The state? (--can't remember which state the victims' families first filed it in). Or into the maw of Bushwhack crime, thievery, torture and war?

"The company in 2007 pleaded guilty to doing business with a terrorist organization and agreed to pay a $25 million fine for paying the right-wing Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia." --Palm Beach Post

Didn't know about this second lawsuit, filed in Florida. Is justice on this matter possible in Florida? Don't know anything about this case, including whether or not its the same plaintiffs. Do you?