Author: Luke Taylor in Bogotá

  • Landmark verdict against Chiquita marks first time major US company held liable for funding human rights abuses abroad

    A Florida court has ordered Chiquita Brands International to pay $38m to the families of eight Colombian men murdered by a paramilitary death squad, after the American banana giant was shown to have financed the terrorist organisation from 1997-2004.

    The landmark ruling late on Monday came after 17 years of legal efforts and is the first time that the fruit multinational has paid out compensation to Colombian victims, opening the way for thousands of others to seek restitution.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Inter-American Court of Human Rights concludes state allowed eradication of 6,000 Patriotic Union party members in 1980s

    Colombia has pledged to pay reparations to victims after the inter-American court of human rights (IACHR) concluded the state allowed the systematic extermination of the leftwing Patriotic Union (UP) party in the 1980s and 90s.

    The UP was a political party created out of a peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces (Farc) guerrillas in 1985 but 6,000 of its members were wiped out by rightwing paramilitaries, narcos and the Colombian military.

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    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.