Colombian Terrorist Victims' Families File Suit in South Florida
June 14 2007 - 12:39PM
PR Newswire (US)
Chiquita banana company financed terrorist group FORT LAUDERDALE,
Fla., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit has been filed in U.S.
District Court here seeking substantial compensation from the
Chiquita banana company on behalf of 50 relatives of 22 persons,
including a 8-year-old child, killed by a terrorist group in
Colombia that was financed in part by Chiquita. The attorney for
the relatives, William J. Wichmann, a partner in the Fort
Lauderdale firm of Conrad & Scherer LLP, handling the case with
the assistance of Colombian counsel, said the suit was filed here
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. In March,
Chiquita Brands International, Inc., entered into a plea agreement
with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in which
it agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle a criminal complaint
that accused the company of making more than 100 payments, totaling
more than $1.7 million, to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia
(AUC), which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization by the U.S. government. Wichmann said the deaths took
place between 1997 and 2004 in the banana- growing region of Uraba
in northwestern Colombia, near its border with Panama. While the
suit does not ask for specific damages, Wichmann said, "We will be
asking for significant compensatory and punitive damages for these
tragic deaths caused by a terrorist group that Chiquita has
admitted it financed." The criminal complaint filed by the justice
department against Chiquita said the "AUC's activities varied from
assassinating suspected guerilla supporters to engaging in
guerrilla combat units. The AUC also engaged in other illegal
activities, including the kidnapping and murder of civilians." The
U.S. Secretary of State designated the AUC as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization on Sept. 10, 2001, and again on Sept. 10, 2003, making
it "a crime for any United States person, among other things,
knowingly to provide material support and resources, including
currency and monetary instruments, to the AUC." The government's
action against Chiquita alleged the illegal payments "were reviewed
and approved by senior executives of the corporation, to include
high-ranking officers, directors, and employees." The suit was
filed yesterday. No hearing date has been set. Contact: Mike
Powers, 954-527-3355 DATASOURCE: Conrad & Scherer LLP CONTACT:
Mike Powers, +1-954-527-3355, for Conrad & Scherer LLP
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