Chiquita says it paid terrorists for protection.Chiquita Brands International will pay a $25 million fine after admitting it paid terrorists for protection in a region of Colombia. This concludes a United States Justice Department investigation into the Cincinnati OH-based company's financial dealings with right-wing paramilitaries and leftist left·ism also Left·ism n. 1. The ideology of the political left. 2. Belief in or support of the tenets of the political left. left rebels. According to federal prosecutors, Chiquita paid about $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC, in Spanish), were formed in April 1997 as an umbrella paramilitary federation led by Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá (ACCU) that sought to consolidate many local . Known by its Spanish initials as the AUC AUC area under curve , this right-wing militia has been involved in massacres and cocaine trafficking in Colombia. The United States designated the AUC a terrorist organization in September 2001. Chiquita made the payments to receive protection for its workers, according to prosecutors. The company also paid the National Liberation Army Noun 1. National Liberation Army - a Marxist terrorist group formed in 1963 by Colombian intellectuals who were inspired by the Cuban Revolution; responsible for a campaign of mass kidnappings and resistance to the government's efforts to stop the drug trade; "ELN and the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Noun 1. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - a powerful and wealthy terrorist organization formed in 1957 as the guerilla arm of the Colombian communist party; opposed to the United States; has strong ties to drug dealers when control of the firm's banana growing area changed. Chiquita's Colombian banana operations were sold in June 2004. Under terms of the agreement, the company will pay a fine of $25 million in five annual installments. Chiquita does not expect the fine will impact its ability to operate its business. |
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