Florida

Jury Selection Starting in Case Against Chiquita Over Deaths of Americans by FARC

What to Know

  • The lawsuits accuse Chiquita of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act by paying FARC about $220,000 over nearly a decade.
  • Chiquita says it only paid FARC to protect its banana operation employees and interests from violence.

Jury selection is set to begin in Florida to try lawsuits filed against banana giant Chiquita Brands International. The company is being sued by the families of six Americans kidnapped and killed in Colombia during the 1990s by the terrorist organization called FARC.

The case is set to start Monday in West Palm Beach federal court. The lawsuits accuse Chiquita of violating the Anti-Terrorism Act by paying FARC about $220,000 over nearly a decade.

The families claim Chiquita's financial support of FARC as a known terrorist group means the company should be held responsible for the Americans' deaths and pay potentially millions in damages.

Chiquita says it only paid FARC to protect its banana operation employees and interests from violence.

FARC is the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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