Chiquita Can't Shuck Colombia Terror Claims

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CN) – Relatives of banana-plantation workers, political and social activists, and other civilians killed by Colombian paramilitary forces may sue Chiquita over claims of torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes and crimes against humanity, a federal judge ruled.

In a multidistrict litigation, the plaintiffs accused Chiquita Brands International and Chiquita Fresh North America of complicity in hundreds of deaths because of its direct and indirect payments to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by its Spanish abbreviation AUC). Chiquita was also allegedly involved with arms shipments into Colombia.

The AUC was created in the 1990s to fight left-wing guerillas led by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), which have been engaged in a decades-long conflict with the Colombian government. The AUC, claiming to have 11,000 members by 2001, terrorized civilians throughout Colombia, engaging in executions, rape, torture and large-scale attacks on civilians whom the AUC considered guerrilla supporters or sympathizers. The AUC also targeted “socially undesirable” groups, such as indigenous persons, people with psychological problems, drug addicts and prostitutes.

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