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July 25, 2014

Appeals Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Chiquita for Colombia Paramilitary Murders 
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A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit against the produce
giant Chiquita brought by thousands of Colombians for the murders of
their loved ones at the hands of paramilitaries. Chiquita pleaded guilty
in 2007 to giving funds to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia,
known as the AUC, a right-wing paramilitary alliance supported by top
leaders and blamed for killing tens of thousands of people, most of them
civilians, beginning in the late 1990s. Chiquita sought protection from
the lawsuits in part by citing the 2012 Supreme Court decision limiting
the ability of people outside the United States to sue corporations for
human rights abuses in U.S. courts. The judge in the case sided with
Chiquita, but victims say they plan to continue legal action through the
Torture Victim Protection Act and Colombian law.

 

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