Chiquita Brands International pleads guilty to making protection payments to a terrorism group in Colombia.
As The Los Angeles Times reporter Josh Meyer tells Robert Siegel, the money went to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, which the U.S. government classified as a terrorist group in 2001.
Lawyers at Chiquita had warned the company about making the payments, which flowed through its Banadex subsidiary. The group had threatened Chiquita's workers in the region.
Chiquita sold Bananex in June 2004, but it continues to purchase Colombian bananas through the company today.
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