Chiquita named in Colombian murder suit

Family members of people killed by militant groups in Colombia sued Chiquita Brands International on June 7, accusing the banana company of sponsoring terrorism. The lawsuit, filed anonymously by family members of 144 victims, follows the company's admission in March that for years it paid Colombian terrorists to protect its most profitable banana-growing operation. The lawsuit filed in a Washington federal court argues that the defendants "knowingly engaged in an ongoing campaign of terror" against those murdered by paramilitaries they funded. The suit says 10 unnamed employees of Chiquita and its Colombian subsidiary "knowingly aides and abetted the paramilitary forces" responsible for 144 murders "by providing financial support, arms and other substantial assistance." The company is awaiting sentencing on one count of doing business with a terrorist organization. Its arrangement with prosecutors calls for a $25 million fine and does not identify the several senior executives who approved the illegal protection payments. The agreement ends a lengthy Justice Department investigation into the company's financial dealings with right-wing paramilitaries and leftist rebels the US government deems terrorist groups.