Colombia sentences former Chiquita Brand executives for allegedly funding paramilitary groups
Among those convicted are three former executives who served as the company’s general managers in Colombia, including American citizen Charles Dennis Keiser.
Members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
On Wednesday, a Colombian court sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and ordered them to pay a $3.4 million fine for allegedly financing paramilitary groups.
This marks the first conviction against Chiquita executives in Colombia, following a 2024 U.S. court ruling that ordered the company to pay millions in compensation to victims of the conflict.
According to the ruling reported by AFP, a court in the department of Antioquia found the seven defendants guilty of "aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime" for their alleged ties to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) in the banana-growing region of Urabá. The AUC was responsible for numerous atrocities during the deadliest years of Colombia’s armed conflict.
Antonio Sanguino, Colombia’s labor minister under leftist President Gustavo Petro, described the court’s "exemplary ruling" on X as "historic." "For years, rural workers were victims of fear and violence. Today, justice has given them an answer," he said.
Among those convicted are three former executives who served as general managers of the company in Colombia between 1990 and 2004, including American citizen Charles Dennis Keiser.
The Colombian justice system stated that during this period, the multinational transferred approximately $2 million to the now-defunct AUC.
The funds provided by the company to the AUC "were destined to finance the expansion of paramilitarism in the region," which enabled paramilitary groups to carry out murders, forced disappearances, and torture against social leaders and peasants in the area, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Since the investigation began in the United States, the company has claimed it was a victim of extortion and that the payments were made to protect its employees.
Other multinationals are accused of links to the AUC
Meanwhile, several other multinational companies have also faced accusations of ties to the AUC paramilitaries.
Since 2023, executives from the U.S. mining company Drummond have been on trial in Colombia’s Cesar department for alleged links to these self-defense groups.
Colombia’s armed conflict has resulted in over 10 million victims in more than half a century, including approximately one million deaths and 200,000 disappearances.
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