On 10 June 2024, after weeks of powerful testimony and evidence, a Florida jury issued its verdict against Chiquita Brands International and in favour of plaintiff family members of Colombian trade unionists, banana workers, activists, and others targeted by paramilitaries in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and awarded a total of $38.3 million in damages
Counsel for the victims included EarthRights International, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Paul Hoffman, Arturo Carrillo, Judith Brown Chomsky, and John DeLeon.
Family members who had spent years fighting for justice for the killing of their loved ones welcomed this recognition. One reflected,
“It’s a triumph of a process that has been going on for almost 17 years, for all of us who have suffered so much during these years. There’s a debate about justice and reparation; we’ve been fighting since 2007. We’re not in this process because we want to be; it was Chiquita, with its actions, that dragged us into it. We have a responsibility to our families, and we must fight for them.”
Over the course of several weeks, the jury heard harrowing accounts of the violence that the paramilitaries had perpetrated as well as testimony from top executives from Chiquita, including the then-CEO, Fernando Aguirre. Witnesses described in detail the payments that Chiquita made to the AUC paramilitary forces, and how Chiquita provided material support for the armed group’s daily operations. Chiquita, in turn, attempted various defense strategies, including claiming they did not know their money was flowing to the paramilitaries–a narrative that was drawn into question by their own witnesses.
Testimony from former AUC paramilitaries – such as Ever Veloza Garcia – detailed how this armed group collaborated with Chiquita to maintain control over the region while suppressing worker protests. Ovidio Nuñez Cabrales, a former Chiquita security employee turned AUC member, confirmed the close relationship between Chiquita’s security team and the paramilitaries, testifying that Chiquita’s security provided logistical support for the targeting and execution of particular workers.
Though no sum could ever compensate for the loss of their family members, the verdict provides a powerful example of accountability.