Has the whole world gone bananas?

The company famous for bringing us America’s favorite fruit was fined $25 million for consorting with a terrorist organization. Officials from Chiquita said that the region in Colombia in which their bananas are grown is fraught with violence from leftist rebels and far-right paramilitaries, so company officials decided to “buy” some protection. Fernando Aguirre, Chiquita’s CEO, told Associated Press: “The payments made by the company were always motivated by our good-faith concern for the safety of our employees.” But an investigation showed that Chiquita attempted to conceal the payments to the terrorist organization and that its legal counsel advised company officials not to make the payments.
Posted by Patrice Hein

9 Comments

  1. Econ101
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 1:57 am | Permalink

    IF this is true, will the Democrats get fined??

    http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53257

  2. Wiseman
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 3:32 am | Permalink

    It must be nice to get paid 25 million to deem groups of foreigners as terrorist.It is only by definition, I wonder who the real mafia is?

  3. GSheridan
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 4:03 am | Permalink

    It’s a sad state of affairs in Colombia right now, when kidnappings are at an all-time high.

    While I can see Chiquita wanting to just ‘make the problem go away,’ funding the terrorists with 1.7 million dollars only increases the problem.

    They should have listened to their attorneys who said the payments were inappropriate.

    Is the $25 million fine too high?

    I dunno.

    How will Chiquita deal now if workers suddenly start ‘losing their heads?’ It was a very bad precedent to begin paying the terrorists in the first place, but I doubt they are going to take no for an answer without first wreaking havoc.

    We need to take that fine money and HELP Chiquita fight the terrorist threat against their workers.

    Oh wait – we can’t do that – even though the terrorist group is right-wing, the idea of terrorism is a leftist, fascist staple in our world.

    ….sigh…..

    There goes my signature Banana Cream Pie

  4. Republican
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 8:04 am | Permalink

    I think instead of the fine, Chiquita should give free bananas to schools and food warehouses for the poor until the $25 million fine is paid in full.

    This will keep shipping companies and delivery people fully employed and hungry one’s tummies full. :)

  5. HardTruth
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 11:47 am | Permalink

    Republican – Good idea!

  6. BizSnype
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 12:20 pm | Permalink

    Who issued the fine? Was it some U.S. authority?

    Remember, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter…

  7. Joe Williams
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 5:32 pm | Permalink

    The way the two major political ideologies are going in this country, would make you wonder if we would ever get to the point of killing each other. We already do character assassination. What’s next?

  8. brian
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 11:19 pm | Permalink

    Joe, ask Valerie Plame

  9. Joe Williams
    Posted March 16, 2007 at 11:25 pm | Permalink

    I don’t know Plame, so I can’t ask her.