Florida jury awards $38.3 million over Chiquita's paramilitary payments
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Chiquita admitted in 2007 that it paid about $1.7 million to Colombian AUC paramilitaries and paid a $25 million fine. A Florida jury awarded $38.3 million to eight families in 2024, and the appeal is ongoing; the sources reviewed do not report a measured effect on nature.
- AUC paramilitaries (Colombia) — received about $1.7 million from Chiquita, per Chiquita's 2007 admission NPR (via Michigan Public)
- Eight families (plaintiffs) — awarded $38.3 million by a Florida jury in 2024; appeal ongoing Bloomberg Law
What happened
Chiquita admitted in 2007 that it paid about $1.7 million to AUC paramilitaries in Colombia and paid a $25 million fine (NPR; Bloomberg Law).
In 2024 a Florida jury awarded $38.3 million to eight families (NPR).
Bloomberg Law reported in 2025 that Chiquita was appealing the verdict.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2024OngoingFlorida civil verdict against Chiquita over AUC paymentsFlorida jury (court not named in the sources reviewed) · Civil · Eight families → Chiquita
A Florida jury awarded $38.3 million to eight families in 2024; Chiquita is appealing (Bloomberg Law, 2025). Bloomberg Law
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The outcome of the appeal is not stated in the sources reviewed.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not say whether other payments were made beyond the 2007 admission.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not report a measured effect on forests or wildlife.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- A jury says Chiquita should pay millions over paramilitary killings in ColombiaNPR (via Michigan Public) · 2024-06-13
- Chiquita appeals $38.3 million human rights verdictBloomberg Law · 2025