In a landmark decision, a Florida jury has found Chiquita Brands International liable for financing the Colombian paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC). The ruling in the federal court of the Southern District of Florida concluded that Chiquita knowingly provided substantial assistance to the AUC, creating a foreseeable risk of harm to others.
Chiquita, one of the world’s leading banana producers, has been ordered to pay $38.3 million to the families of eight victims of the AUC. This far-right paramilitary group, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., disbanded in 2006 according to Stanford University’s Mapping Militants Project.
The lawsuit, initially filed in 2008, accused Chiquita of making payments to the AUC that supported the group’s violent activities in Colombia. These payments, recorded as “security services,” totaled over $1.7 million. Despite the AUC being designated a terrorist organization, Chiquita made more than 100 payments, for which it pleaded guilty in 2007 and paid a $25 million fine to the U.S. government.
In response to the jury’s verdict, Chiquita announced plans to appeal. “The situation in Colombia was tragic for so many, including those directly affected by the violence there, and our thoughts remain with them and their families. However, that does not change our belief that there is no legal basis for these claims,” the company said in a statement to CNN. “While we are disappointed by the decision, we remain confident that our legal position will ultimately prevail.”
The Florida jury ruled that Chiquita failed to “act as a reasonable businessperson would have acted under the circumstances,” rejecting the company’s defense that payments were made under threats of violence.
Reacting to the decision, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro questioned why a similar ruling was not reached in Colombia. “Why could US justice determine in judicial truth that Chiquita Brands financed paramilitarism in Urabá? Why couldn’t Colombian justice?” he posted on social media.
