On 10 June 2024, the US Federal Court of South Florida found the fruit exporter Chiquita Brands International guilty of providing substantial assistance to the Colombian paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC).

The paramilitary group was created in 1997 to integrate and coordinate different right-wing paramilitary groups across the country into a unified group. From that moment onwards, the group sought to stop the expansion of the guerillas (mainly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC) and regain control over the territories, leading to the escalation of violent confrontations.

A feared death squad

The paramilitary group is well-known for its horrifying practices, and especially the perpetration of massacres and forced disappearances. The Colombian Truth Commission found that paramilitaries are responsible for over 45% of deaths and 52% disappearances related to the conflict.

Who is financing paramilitaries?

The short answer is: prominent landowners, right-wing associations and companies, including Chiquita. In 2007, the first class action lawsuits were filed in the US, arguing Chiquita’s involvement in financing the paramilitary group. Chiquita pleaded guilty to paying over 1.7 million dollars to the AUC even after the US government had designated it a terrorist group back in 2001.

Employee protection

In 2008, amended lawsuits were filed arguing that Chiquita had endorsed the paramilitary group’s violent conduct, which had enabled it to ‘seize land from peasants; eliminate or dominate labour union organisers’. Chiquita filed several requests to dismiss the cases, claiming that they had been extorted by the paramilitary group and that the contributions were necessary to protect its employees from left-wing armed groups in the country. However, most of the accusations were dismissed.

In 2020 and 2021, various additional cases were filed, which ultimately led to a trial. In its 2024 decision, the Florida court found that Chiquita had not proven that the assistance provided was necessary to protect its employees or property, nor was there no other reasonable alternative. It held that Chiquita had ‘knowingly provided substantial assistance to the AUC to a degree sufficient to create a foreseeable risk of harm’. It therefore ordered Chiquita to pay 38 million dollars to the plaintiffs in compensation.

The violent history of Chiquita Brands

To better understand the magnitude of the decision, it is necessary to look at the violent history of Chiquita’s parent company, the United Fruit Company (UFC). Perhaps the most blatant involvement of the UFC in violence was the Banana Massacre of 1928. Between 1890 and 1920, the UFC used indirect contracts to avoid Colombian law and recruit cheaper workers to the banana plantations. The situation peaked on 6 October 1928, when the banana workers and labour union decided to present a list of demands to the UFC’s general manager. UFC rejected all the demands and refused to negotiate, which resulted in a strike involving over 25,000 workers.

According to recent research, after one month of strikes, the UFC hired a steam boat to bring in 200 military men and gain control over the town hall. Similarly, the US sent a warship, allegedly to evacuate American citizens in the region. The Colombian government was under tremendous pressure to act.

Massacre among workers

On the evening of 5 December, as part of a peaceful protest by the workers, the governor of Magdalena issued a decree ordering them to disperse immediately. The army, which had been deployed to Cienaga several days previously, read the decree in the main square, with over 1,500 workers present. They were given just 15 minutes to leave, and when they refused, the army opened fire on the protestors, killing over 1,000 people.

Bananas: a tainted trade?

Nowadays, Chiquita Brands International is not the only banana company involved in criminal activities in Latin America. Unibán – the parent company of Turbana Bananas – has been named by demobilised paramilitaries as a financier of paramilitary organisations. During his declarations to the Peace and Justice Judges, the Colombian ex-paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso also testified about the ties and payoffs of banana companies to the AUC, referring specifically to the group's relationship with Dole and Del Monte. Similarly, Fyffes, which Chiquita now owns, has been accused of violations of human rights and labour rights both in Colombia and Honduras.

Milestone in pursuit of justice

In this sense, the ruling against Chiquita marks a milestone in Colombian victims’ pursuit of justice and Latin American resilience. It is the first time in history that a US federal jury has found a major US company liable for financing mass atrocities and human rights violations abroad. It is also the first international recognition and one of the few judicial sentences against companies for their long-standing involvement in violence in Latin America. The judgment will hopefully pave the way for future litigation regarding business and human rights violations. At the bare minimum, the decision should generate consumer awareness for the blood involved in Europe’s beloved banana consumption.