BananaGate Update

In September a U.S. judge accepted a plea agreement under which Chiquita will pay a $25 million fine for having paid protection money to Colombia’s leading paramilitary group between 1997 and 2004.

Chiquita had earlier acknowledged having also paid guerilla groups, depending on which armed group controlled the banana-growing region in Uraba. After 9/11, the U.S. added both Colombian paramilitary and guerilla groups to its list of terrorist organizations.

In 2003, Chiquita voluntarily disclosed its payments to the U.S. government, setting in motion a process that led to the agreement.

Earlier this year, a former paramilitary commander testified in Colombia that all banana companies have paid paramilitary groups, specifically naming Dole, Del Monte, and Chiquita. Dole has denied the accusation but local groups say that protection payments are standard practice in Uraba.