Chiquita Brands International is being forced to pay out tens of millions of dollars to the families of people slain by a paramilitary force in Colombia that it funded.must pay $38.3 million to the families of eight men killed by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia — a designated terrorist group known for its violent human rights abuses, of which the company was aware.in a federal case brought by the Department of Justice to paying the AUC $1.
Marissa Vahlsing, the director of the EarthRights non-governmental organization that brought the case on behalf of the victims' families, toldthat the company paid the AUC "even though they knew at the time that these groups were carrying out massacres against any civilian or any suspected sympathizer of left-wing ideas.
"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," Chiquita said in a statement toChiquita's legal maneuvering, however, does not deter the sense of justice felt by Agnieszka Fryszman, the chair of the Cohen Milstein human rights practice who brought the case on behalf of the victims' families..