Chiquita Brands did finance the AUC: US ​​court orders compensation to victims

A jury in a federal court in the United States found the banana multinational Chiquita Brands responsible for financing the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Due to the above, compensation was ordered for the victims in excess of 38 million dollars.

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Through a statement, the victims of the violence of the AUC, a paramilitary group responsible for terrible crimes in Colombia, stated that it was a “historic result.”

Following the decision of the jury of that federal court, the $38 million must be distributed among each member of the families named in the lawsuit. This would be something like 2 million dollars each.

However, the company Chiquita Brands stated that this decision will be appealed.

What do victims say about Chiquita Brands?

Through a statement, the victims stated that this decision “marks a milestone in the fight for the defense of human rights.”

“It is a triumph of a process that has been going on for almost 18 years, for all of us who have suffered so much during these years. In this process there is a debate about justice and reparation. We have been fighting since 2007. We are not in this process because we want to; It was Chiquita, with her actions, who got us into it. We have a responsibility to our families and we must fight for them,” they stated.

In that same communication they highlight that, although the case is being tried in the United States, the “Colombian Civil Code because it is a US company whose decisions were made in that country”.

It turned out that there were nine victims who participated in this trial and whose relatives were murdered by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.

“The legal process against Chiquita Brands includes hundreds of victims whose cases may be resolved in subsequent trials or through an eventual agreement”, concluded that document.

According to Marco Simons, legal director of EarthRights, “This verdict sends a strong message to companies around the world that profit at the expense of human rights: Their actions will not go unpunished. These families, who suffered the siege of armed groups and corporations, demonstrated their strength and managed to triumph in the judicial system.”

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