Killing Without Punishment: Just Like Humboldt County California

Judge Accepts Chiquita Plea Deal

A federal judge has accepted a plea deal that will avoid jail time for current and former executives of the fruit giant Chiquita. Earlier this year Chiquita admitted to paying one point seven million dollars to a right-wing Colombian paramilitary group on the U.S. terrorist watch list. Questions are being raised whether the Justice Department decision is an attempt to avoid scrutiny of whether the Bush administration gave Chiquita its tacit approval. Last month Chiquita revealed it told Homeland Security secretary Michael Chertoff of the payments while Chertoff was at the Justice Department in April 2003. Chertoff promised a response, but never replied. Chiquita kept making payments for nearly another year. Under the plea deal, Chiquita will pay a twenty-five million dollar fine that the company itself proposed. Chiquita has an estimated four point five billion dollars in annual revenue. Colombian officials have criticized the deal. Colombian Justice Minister Carlos Holguin said: “[This agreement] is not worthy of U.S. justice… it gives the idea that impunity can be bought for a few million dollars.”

Source: Democracy Now, September 19, 2007

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Come to Humboldt County
Meet beautiful people
Piss off "law enforcement", tho,
And die.

And it'll be your fault, too.

No prosecution of "law enforcement" here, either.

TLC