The Price Of Bananas

Steve Kroft On How Colombian Paramilitaries Landed A U.S. Corporation In Hot Water

(CBS)  This story was first published on May 11, 2008. It was updated on Aug. 9, 2009.

For American corporations, the rewards of doing business abroad are enormous, but so are the risks. And over the past 25 years no place has been more perilous than Colombia, a country that is just beginning to emerge from the throes of civil war and narco-terrorism.

Chiquita Brands International of Cincinnati, Ohio, found out the hard way. It made millions growing bananas there, only to emerge with its reputation splattered in blood after acknowledging it had paid nearly $2 million in protection money to a murderous paramilitary group that has killed or massacred thousands of people.

As correspondent Steve Kroft reported last year, the victims' families are now suing Chiquita in an American court, and investigators in Bogota and on Capitol Hill are looking at other U.S. companies that may have done the same thing.

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From the air, the plains of the Uraba region are carpeted with lush foliage of banana plantations, which have long provided a livelihood for the people of northern Colombia. And for the better part of century, its best known product has been the Chiquita banana.

But since the 1980's, the business of bananas there has been punctuated with gunfire. First, the area was taken over by Marxist guerillas called the "FARC," whose ruthlessness at killing and kidnapping was exceeded only by the private paramilitary army that rose up to fight them. Chiquita found itself trying to grow bananas in the middle of a war, in which the Colombian government and its army were of no help.

"These lands were lands where there was no law. It was impossible for the government to protect employees," says Fernando Aguirre, who became Chiquita's CEO long after all this happened.

Aguirre says the company was forced to pay taxes to the guerillas when they controlled the territory in the late 1980s and early 90s. When the paramilitaries, known as the "AUC," moved in in 1997 they demanded the same thing.

"Did the paramilitaries state, specifically to you, that if you didn't make the payments, your people would be killed?" Kroft asks.

"There was a very, very strong signal that if the company would not make payments, that things would happen. And since they had already killed at least 50 people, employees of the company, it was clear to everyone there that these guys meant business," Aguirre says.

Chiquita only had a couple of options and none of them were particularly good. It could refuse to pay the paramilitaries and run the risk that its employees could be killed or kidnapped, it could pack up and leave the country all together and abandon its most profitable enterprise, or it could stay and pay protection, and in the process, help finance the atrocities that were being committed all across the countryside.

"These were extortion payments," Aguirre says. “Either you pay or your people get killed.”

"And you decided to pay," Kroft remarks.

"And the company decided to pay, absolutely," Aguirre says.

There was no doubt in the company's mind that the paramilitaries were very bad people, Aguirre says.

Just how bad was already becoming evident. The paramilitaries, who were funded initially by large landowners, and later by the cocaine trade, not only drove the Marxist guerillas from the area, they tried to eliminate anyone who might have leftist sympathies, from labor leaders to school teachers. Sometimes entire villages were wiped out in the most grisly fashion. Gloria Cuartes was the mayor of Apartado, and witnessed much of it with her own eyes.

"I was a mayor whose job was just to gather the dead," Cuartes says.

In 1996 she went to a school to talk to the children about the violence that surrounded them. While she was there, the paramilitaries arrived and murdered a 12-year-old boy, whose only crime had been to announce their presence.

"They cut off his head, and they threw the head at us," Cuartes remembers. "I went into a state of panic. They were there for four hours, with their weapons, firing shots toward the ceiling. One hundred girls and boys were with me. The children did not scream. They were in shock."

Asked if they said anything to her, Cuartes says, "No. Their language was death. Their message was that if they could do this to children, they could do it to me."

As the atrocities piled up all across the country, Chiquita continued to make the payments to the paramilitaries, viewing itself as a victim of the violence, not a facilitator.

[paulsmmrs]

The 60 Minutes story failed to report Chiquita Brands long history of paying money for influence without regard for the people they hurt. From their days as bribing ruthless tyrant United Fruit Company politics to hefty money for influence here in the US. Huge contributions to the Clinton Administration and other politions led to sanctions against European countries for not buying enough of Chiquitas bananas. Countless small US comapnies became unwitting victoms to 100% tariffs imposed on the products they imported from Europe. Chiquita is an American company that doesn't sell American products. But it's no suprise Chiquita executives want to take their chances with US authorities where they can once again use political connections rather than be extradited to Columbia and face the charges against them.

[fush2]

who cares lets all grow bananas in our backyard over the summer...

[cbsblogger]

Corporations are now the backbone of the GOP and the nemesis of the USA.

[acolton1]

Posted by njbernard at 12:29 AM

Please Don''t Cut and Paste the same thing over and over again. People read it once and we get your point.

Thank YOU !

[acolton1]

Costco in Kansas City has not had Bananas for the past 3+ weeks.

[bseer]

While Chiquita is part of the problem without a doubt this story all but ignored the roll of cocaine money in this violence. All user of cocaine are therefore party to these killing as the corrupting influence of drug money on Columbia makes the sins of Chiquita very small by comparison.

The criminal activity fuel by cocaine users can be seen from the streets of Baltimore to the hills of Columbia. CBS, the people with blood on their hands are the Chiquita executives AND anyone (some in your employ) who has spent the money to fund this violence.

[jerr11]

The price of Bananas!

How about the price of Halliburton''s profits?

So far:

4071 Dead Americans.

$3 trillion squandered.

$4 a gallon gas.

The Price of Bananas?

Guess we''ll have to ask that prize chimp in the white house.

[njbernard]

I would compare Colombia ''s Bananas with
CONGO and Coltan (columbite-tantalite). Regional analysts say the international demand for coltan is one of the driving forces behind the war in the DRC, and the presence of rival militias in the country.
Companies use tantalum to make a variety of electronic devices, including laptops, DVD players and cell phones.
http://geology.about.com/od/conflictminerals/a/coltan.htm

[njbernard]

I would compare Colombia ''s Bananas with
CONGO and Coltan (columbite-tantalite). Regional analysts say the international demand for coltan is one of the driving forces behind the war in the DRC, and the presence of rival militias in the country.
Companies use tantalum to make a variety of electronic devices, including laptops, DVD players and cell phones.
http://geology.about.com/od/conflictminerals/a/coltan.htm

[njbernard]

I would compare Colombia ''s Bananas with
CONGO and Coltan (columbite-tantalite). Regional analysts say the international demand for coltan is one of the driving forces behind the war in the DRC, and the presence of rival militias in the country.
Companies use tantalum to make a variety of electronic devices, including laptops, DVD players and cell phones.
http://geology.about.com/od/conflictminerals/a/coltan.htm

[andrew_693]

I guess these paramilitary forces that chopped children''s heads for fun are the new "freedom fighters" (the substitutes of alquaeda) sponsored by the republican christian administration. I can see us invading them to steal their oil and bananas in order to make haliburton or another republican company rich with blood money. Why do you think they send the missionaries around the world? that''s the scout party.

[uscorrupt]

www.chiquitadealings.com this is not new and chiquita is not the only one soon when bush lives office te usa will now about all the corruption usa corporatons have done i colombia and how the politicians profit from plan colombia this is part of bush-uribe deals usa people do not deserve to be treated like this thats why we need to expose all of this politicians and dea corruptions www.therealityofplancolombia.com

[as141]

you know what they can do with there bananas! Dole and delmonte are probably guilty to.

[liriko-2009]

Did Mr Aguirre miss to mention the hiring of paramilitaries to kill union leaders like coca-cola did? if the FARC are the only bad guys and they are loosing this war, who is taking control of the coke plantations? why are we witnessing more and more violations to the human rights under Mr. Uribe regime?

[concern21]

The guerillas are the bad guys. Colombia voted in a landslide for a president who would stand up against the socialist movement and traffickers. Americans need to do their part stop using cocaine.

[prairiefox1]

THE DAMAGE IS IRREVERSIBLE !

[prairiefox1]

AND IF YOU THINK BAROKE LABOMBA WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE, THINK AGAIN!

[prairiefox1]

THANKS TO PRESIDENT (ESSO BEE) AND OUR FAILED GOVERNMENT THIS NATION WILL BE UNABLE TO FEED ITSELF SIMPLY BECAUSE WE DON''T MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO DO SO!
THIS COMING WINTER WE WILL FREEZE TO DEATH BECAUSE WE CANNOT AFFORD THE GAS TO DO SO! IF WE BURN WOOD TO SURVIVE THIS CONTINENT WILL BE STRIPPED OF ALL TREES AND THE DELIVERY OF FOOD WILL CEASE!
AND ALL OF ITS CITIZENS WILL CRY AS THEY DIE!

[redhoffer]

concern21 -

You have American Economic Interests who are financially supporting murdering guerillas in a foreign country under the watch of GW Bush....

and you somehow manage to blame H. Clinton and/or Obama?

Nice.

Keep drinking the koolaid....

[jboxton]

I''ll bet Barack Obama is going to make this a top priority as I hear bananas are his favorite food.