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by Amy Ling in business

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court here seeking substantial compensation from the Chiquita banana company on behalf of 50 relatives of 22 persons, including a 8-year-old child, killed by a terrorist group in Colombia that was financed in part by Chiquita.

The attorney for the relatives, William J. Wichmann, a partner in the Fort Lauderdale firm of Conrad & Scherer LLP, handling the case with the assistance of Colombian counsel, said the suit was filed here under the Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows residents of other countries to file suit in U.S. courts for damages resulting from illegal actions in their country by U.S. entities.

In March, Chiquita Brands International, Inc., entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., in which it agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle a criminal complaint that accused the company of making more than 100 payments, totaling more than $1.7 million, to the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), which has been designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. government.

Wichmann said the deaths took place between 1997 and 2004 in the banana- growing region of Uraba in northwestern Colombia, near its border with Panama.

While the suit does not ask for specific damages, Wichmann said, "We will be asking for significant compensatory and punitive damages for these tragic deaths caused by a terrorist group that Chiquita has admitted it financed."

The criminal complaint filed by the justice department against Chiquita said the "AUC's activities varied from assassinating suspected guerilla supporters to engaging in guerrilla combat units. The AUC also engaged in other illegal activities, including the kidnapping and murder of civilians."

The U.S. Secretary of State designated the AUC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on Sept. 10, 2001, and again on Sept. 10, 2003, making it "a crime for any United States person, among other things, knowingly to provide material support and resources, including currency and monetary instruments, to the AUC."

The government's action against Chiquita alleged the illegal payments "were reviewed and approved by senior executives of the corporation, to include high-ranking officers, directors, and employees."

The suit was filed yesterday. No hearing date has been set. Contact: Mike Powers, 954-527-3355

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