Chiquita Brands International said yesterday (14 March) that it has agreed to pay a US$25m fine after admitting that it paid terrorist groups protection money in Columbia.
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The settlement draws to an end a US Justice Department investigation into the banana company’s dealings with right-wing paramilitary groups and leftist rebels in Columbia, organisations classified as terrorist groups by the US government. Chiquita was believed to have paid about $1.7m to the United Self-Defence Forces of Columbia (AUC) between 1997 and 2004.
Fernando Aguirre, chairman and chief executive officer, said that the group had made the payments in order to safeguard the welfare of its employees and, when they were added to the US’s list of terrorist organisations, Chiquita voluntarily informed the US Government.
“In 2003, Chiquita voluntarily disclosed to the Department of Justice that its former banana-producing subsidiary had been forced to make payments to right- and left-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia to protect the lives of its employees. The company made this disclosure shortly after senior management became aware that these groups had been designated as foreign terrorist organisations under a US statute that makes it a crime to make payments to such organisations,” Aguirre said.
“The payments made by the company were always motivated by our good faith and concern for the safety of our employees,” he emphasised.
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