A federal judge has rejected an appeal by Chiquita Brands International, upholding a June 2024 ruling that found the multinational fruit company liable for "knowingly" providing financial assistance to a Colombian paramilitary group, Bloomberg reported.

As a result, Chiquita must now pay over $38 million in damages to the families of eight victims of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC).

The original jury decision asserted 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." 

Chiquita had argued the payments were made in response to threats against its workers and facilities, but the Florida jury concluded Chiquita failed to demonstrate its support for the AUC was solely to avert such harm.

The banana company also stated during the appeal that Colombian law, not US law, should apply in the case, and reportedly asked the court to reduce the damages by 97%. However, with the appeal now dismissed, Chiquita becomes the first US company to be found guilty by a US court for human rights violations committed against foreign nationals outside of the country.

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