Chiquita Spent $800K To Block Bill Against Terrorism Sponsors, Report Says

Fox News ^ | June 04, 2014 | N/A

[Freeport]

NEW YORK – The Chiquita company – the world's largest banana producer – has so far successfully blocked legislation that would allow 9/11 victims to sue companies that fund terrorists, according to a report.

A few years ago Chiquita voluntarily disclosed to the U.S. Justice Department payments made to violent groups, pled guilty to engaging with a terrorist group, and paid a $25 million fine. But the company realized if the 9/11 victims' bill passed, it would open up the company to lawsuits in civil court.

Chiquita banana has operated in Colombia for more than 100 years. Chiquita says that in the 1990s, violent drug cartels threatened workers. In one case, a paramilitary group killed 20 banana farm workers execution style. That was one of the reasons Chiquita agreed to make extortion payments totaling $1.7 million. Chiquita stopped the payments after the U.S. State Department designated the group a terrorist organization.

Tim Mak, the reporter who broke the story for The Daily Beast, explained that Chiquita has argued that it was extorted and paid the money to ensure the safety of its employees in Colombia.

The 9/11 victims' bill is called the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act.

[Freeport]

A quandary to be sure... anybody following this bill?

[Wolfie]

Its a publicly traded company. Their first responsibility is to their shareholders. Lobbying against the bill is the right thing to do. Let the scumbag trial lawyers taken a bite out of someone else.

[Lacey2]

Amend the l3egislation to exclude this and any other company which has in the past paid money to terrorists in an attempt to save their4 employees. Also make it possible for companies in the future to pay providing the notify the authorities first.

[McGavin999]

Since our government trades with terrorist groups they can hardly go after someone else who does.

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

Wouldn’t this count as ex post facto law?

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

There is a LOT more to this than Chiquita.

Though the US officially discourages corporations bribing foreign officials, when almost all other countries are more than happy to allow bribes; even the US cannot stop humanitarian NGOs from paying tyrants money just so they are allowed to deliver food aid to some minority the tyrant hates.

Doctors Without Borders, for example, is known to pay bribes to the most hideous of dictators and war lords, just so that it can give medical care, and try to give polio vaccinations.

So should DWB be liable when that dictator or war lord continues to persecute and murder others?

But the fools trying to pass this legislation are only doing so because Chiquita had to pay blackmail to a Colombian anti-communist gang. Not a word about the blackmail corporations had to pay to the drug running leftist FARC.

So it’s a cheap political gimmick to stop bribery just to “right wing” groups. But the consequences of this law passing could be awful.

[B4Ranch]

American companies pay in the form of political donations which are not legally known as bribes.

[Kenny Bunk]

I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say
Bananas have to ripen in a certain way
When they are fleck'd with brown and have a golden hue
Bananas taste the best and are best for you

You can put them in a salad
You can put them in a pie-aye
Any way you want to eat them
It's impossible to beat them

But, bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator
So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator."

When Shakespeare wrote that, he knew what he was talking about. Then he wrote:

Yes! We have no bananas,
We have no bananas today.
We’ve stringbeans, and onions,
Cabbages and scallions
And all kind of fruit, and say,
We have an old fashioned tomato
Long Island potato,
But yes! We have no bananas,
We have no bananas today
Yes! We have no bananas,
We have no bananas today.

Whatever Chiquita has to pay, it's worth it. At any rate now that Obama has turned us into a banana republic without the bananas, it could become our national anthem. Also note, that Chiquita paid their terrorist one hell of a lot less than Obama paid his.