[Marxism] Colombia:Death by a thousand lawsuits

[Greg McDonald <sabocat59@xxxxxxx>]

Miami Herald

Posted on Thu, Jun. 14, 2007
Fort Lauderdale law firm sues Chiquita

BY JANE BUSSEY
A Fort Lauderdale law firm has filed a lawsuit against Chiquita  
Brands International seeking compensation for the deaths of 22 people  
allegedly killed by a terrorist group that received financing from  
the banana multinational.

The suit, the second of its type this month, targeted the Cincinnati- 
headquartered company because the multinational has admitted to  
illegally funding paramilitary groups tied to human rights abuses in  
Colombia. It said it paid the money as ''protection payments'' for  
its workers.

The suit said that the victims included banana workers, a teacher, a  
student and an 8-year-old child. They were all allegedly slain by the  
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or the AUC. The AUC was  
designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State  
Department in 2001.
Chiquita spokesman Michael R. Mitchell called the suit  
''preposterous,'' and said that the company and its employees ''were  
victims'' in the Colombian case.

''Chiquita has already been the victim of extortion in Colombia,''  
Mitchell said in an e-mail to The Miami Herald. ``We will not allow  
ourselves to become extortion victims in the United States.''
In March, Chiquita entered into a plea agreement with the U.S.  
Justice Department and consented to pay a $25 million fine to settle  
a criminal complaint that accused the company of
making $1.7 million in payments from 1997 to 2004.

The newest lawsuit was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which  
allows residents of other countries to file suit in U.S. courts for  
damages resulting from illegal actions in their country by U.S.  
entities. The families of the victims filed the suit in U.S. District  
Court in Fort Lauderdale, since Chiquita has offices at Port Everglades.

''We're asking for compensatory damages for the family members that  
survived and also punitive damages from Chiquita so they don't do  
this again,'' said William J. Wichmann, an attorney with the Fort  
Lauderdale firm of Conrad & Scherer.

The lawsuit came on the heels of a similar lawsuit, filed in U.S.  
District Court in Washington on June 7 by a different group of  
victims. The International Labor Rights Fund is acting as the  
attorney in that case.




© 2007 Miami Herald Media Company. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miamiherald.com
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