Chiquita must pay $38.3m to families of Colombian men killed by paramilitary groups

Chiquita in 2007 was ordered by a U.S. court to pay a $25 million fine to settle criminal charges that it did business with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group.

Chiquita pled guilty in that case to paying protection money from 2001 to 2004, which it said it did in order to protect employees.

The jury in the civil case before the U.S. District Court Southern District of Florida said in the verdict on Monday that Chiquita knowingly provided substantial assistance to the AUC in the form of cash payments or other means of support, to a degree sufficient to create a foreseeable risk of harm.