Chiquita Banana Pays Columbian Terrorists Over $1 Million

A few days ago, I read a newspaper article that said Chiquita Banana agreed to a $25 million dollar fine for paying Columbian terrorist groups for protection of their farming interests.  The article is here.

Federal prosecutors said the company paid $1.7 million dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces (AUC) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC).  These terrorists organizations are responsible for massacres and kidnapings in Columbia, are involved in cocaine exports and all other forms of criminal activity.  These are designated terrorists organizations by the U.S. government.  Click on the links for more information about them. 

It seems to me that Chiquita made the decision that protecting their own profits was more important than anything else — including any laws that might prohibit them from dealing with terrorists.  Does illegal activity always take a back seat to profits? 

Is this just the local bar paying a percentage to the mob — only on a larger scale?  Am I the only one that thinks this conduct is scandalous?

Comments

[zeke123]

> These are designated terrorists
> organizations by the U.S. government.

This means so very little its not even funny.
The US bombed in 1999 in support of the LARGEST and best trained terrorist organization in the world according to the CIA. Our leaders met with wanted criminals out in the open even though they had warrants out from INTERPOL.

In the 90's, we supported the muslims in Bosnia (our government got the muslims to NOT sign 4 peace accords that were signed by the two other sides which would have averted everything) even though thousands of muhajeddins were roaming the countryside. Back then Bin Laden was our friend (he was really helpful with that whole afghan-russian thing before) and his help in the Balkans was very helpful to our foreign policy. (of course, muhajeddins usually go tanning and shopping when they are fighting a jihad...or at least thats what we were led to believe)
This of course bit us in the ass when we know that Bosnia was a training ground for the 911 planners, that the ONLY person arrested for the Madrid bombings was of a moroccan who was travelling from Bosnia and that 3 of the most recent Al Quaeda leaders in S.Arabia were Bosnian holy war vets who came back with Bosnian passports.
Hell, we had ex-wanted criminal/drug lords attend the last democratic convetion to pay hommage to the people who allowed them to continue controlling the majority of the eur o drug trade. (Just like in the mafia where you pay respects to the Don.)

So please excuse me while I laugh whenever I read 'designated terrorists organizations'.

I think our illegal bombings in 99, 01 and 03 have shown what terrorism is. Actually, our idiot general Clarke (who was stopped by a british general from lauching an attack on russian troops. Usually, insubordination is an offense but the brit. general was never admonished. Such things of course never make it in our papers.) was taped by the foreign press telling them that the bombing of cities was done to scare and psychologically scar the civilian population enough that they would overthrow their leaders.

Like I said, these terms mean nothing.
Its like calling a cow, a pig.
Just because you claim it is so, doesnt mean its the truth.
Terrorism (state and muhajeddins) have grreatly benefited us.

[Paul218]

It all depends on how you read it. Are FARC and AUC purely motivated and financed by the Cocaine trade? Was the true motivation of US forces dropping plant-killing herbicides over the Columbian Amazon rainforest an attempt to kill off the Coca crop?

Or are FARC and AUC a backlash against Columbia's land-owning Oligarchs and the flooding of the Columbian food markets with super-cheap subsidised US imports? And the US' motivation for dopping herbicide more a case of ensuring that those food exports are backed by the inability for Columbia's poor to purchase compartively cheap foods internally?

Or to put it this way, is the Coca plant the only crop from which money can be made in Columbia due to the low price of imported US foods?

I'm more interested in knowing where the $25 million will go and be spent on than the $1.7 million that FARC and AUC received.