Colombia jails US citizen on femicide charges
Colombia preparing tropical paradise for tourism after 500...
Hacktivists leak 178,000 documents from Colombia’s military
Colombia’s sentenced for exterminating political party
Colombia’s capital Bogota awarded for failing crime policy
OAS urges Colombia to release people arrested over...
Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord
Colombia’s GDP and GNI
Panama arrests US citizen suspected in Colombia of...
Colombia seeking mastermind behind Paraguay prosecutor kill plot
  • About
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion
News

Colombians’ Dole lawsuit dismissed

by Hannah Stone September 17, 2010

Colombia news - Dole

A lawsuit brought by a group of 185 Colombians against food multinational Dole for allegedly funding paramilitary groups was dismissed by a Californian court, the company announced Friday.

The suit was filed in April 2009 by relatives of 51 Colombians who were allegedly murdered by paramilitary death squads in the pay of Dole.

Dole was accused of paying around $10 million between 1997 and 2007 to leaders of paramilitary coalition the AUC, as well as to other militia groups. In exchange, the AUC would allegedly murder unionists considered troublesome by Dole, as well as driving farmers off land the company wanted to acquire.

The AUC was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2001.

“From the outset, Dole has adamantly denied the blatantly false allegations in this lawsuit,” Dole executive vice president C. Michael Carter said in a press release.

“It was based on the self-motivated declaration of a convicted Colombian terrorist in the custody of the Colombian government, which the Court had found was ‘inherently unreliable due to the unique circumstances in which [he] finds himself,'” according to Carter.

A key piece of evidence in the case was the testimony of demobilized paramilitary leader Jose Gregorio Mangones Lugo, alias “Carlos Tijeras,” who said that Dole had paid the AUC to kill union leaders.

Calros Tijeras testified that Dole paid the AUC to kidnap and murder unionists named by the company. He said that Dole would call the paramilitaries to identify “specific people as ‘security problems’ or just ‘problems.’ Everyone knew that this meant we were to execute the identified person.”

bananasjusticelawsuitparamilitariesUnited States

Trending

  • Panama arrests US citizen suspected in Colombia of murdering fiancé

  • Colombia’s capital Bogota awarded for failing crime policy

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord

For patrons

Downloads for patrons

Related articles

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord

  • Panama arrests US citizen suspected in Colombia of murdering fiancé

  • Colombia’s prosecution blocks talks to dismantle paramilitary groups

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Rss

@2008-2019 - Colombia Reports. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs


Back To Top
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion