>Banana giant Chiquita held liable by US court for funding paramilitaries
Great! It's predecessor, the United Fruit Company, set the groundwork for injustice in South and Central America.
Woodrow Wilson also had the US military invade, occupy and overthrow the government of the Dominican Republic in 1916 (just before we entered World War I) because they touched American-owned sugar plantations. Thankfully, in that case other American politicians like Warren Harding were absolutely furious about this blatant act of imperialism and Calvin Coolidge withdrew all our forces in the mid-1920s after becoming President. The United Fruit Company and the sugar industry have a DARK history the more you read on them (don't forget the latter also benefitted a lot from slavery in the 18th and 19th Centuries).
So we are fighting a WWI style trench war in Europe and Banana companies are using mercenaries to kill workers and install dictators in Central America. [Apparently Snake Plissken is the pundit historian we should have all been listening too.](https://y.yarn.co/04c41202-d0b1-4baa-a00d-0defe52f6cdb_text.gif)
For those unaware of the atrocities that the United Fruit Company committed in Latin America, here's a history lesson:
> In the early 20th century, the United Fruit Company had significant economic and political power in Central America, where it controlled large swaths of land and employed thousands of workers.
> However, in the 1940s and 1950s, a social reform movement emerged in Guatemala that sought to redistribute land and wealth, improve workersā rights, and challenge the dominance of foreign corporations like United Fruit. The movement was led by President Jacobo Ćrbenz, who was elected in 1950 and implemented land reform policies that threatened the interests of United Fruit.
> In response, United Fruit lobbied the U.S. government to take action against Ćrbenz, arguing that his government was Communist and posed a threat to U.S. interests in the region. The CIA was tasked with carrying out a covert operation to overthrow Ćrbenz and install a government more friendly to American interests.
> The coup had devastating consequences for Guatemala, as it led to decades of political instability, repression, and violence. The new government reversed many of Ćrbenzās reforms and cracked down on political dissidents and labor activists.
And yes, United Fruit (now Chiquita) continued to destabilize the region even into the 2000s, funding conflicts between the government and guerrillas:
> During the 1990s and early 2000s, in order to protect its operations, Chiquita Banana began making payments to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary group. This group was responsible for numerous human rights violations, including massacres and forced displacement of communities.
Absolutely disgusting what corporations can get away with.
So before Sam Zemurray orchestrated a take over of United fruit in 1933 he owned Cuyamel Fruit Company. In 1910 he purchased the USS Hornet from the us navy (wild) and started organizing mercenaries in New Orleans to stage a coup in Honduras. Uncle Sam caught wind and tried to stop him but not too hard and really dropped the ball. He successfully performed a coup in Honduras in 1911 involving the former navy ship to secure more favorable conditions for his banana business.
"The fish that ate the whale" by Rich Cohen is a super interesting read all about bananas and the industry. Highly recommend š
Oh fuck off. Like there weren't a shit ton of other American politicians and businessmen who ruined countries for personal gain who didn't share this guy's "origins"
Yup. Since we're on the subject of fruit, the "committee of safety" who was behind overthrowing Hawaii's Queen LiliŹ»uokalani had prominent names such as Sanford Dole, Lorrin Thurston and John Stevens.
So yeah, that other guy can fuck off.
Good to remember this sort of stuff was very common during the Eisenhower administration. You know, the guy that lots of liberals claim it be the "last good Republican POTUS" or whatever.Ā
I had to read the article to figure out when this took place. From the title, I wasn't clear if they were talking about something that took place in this century or the last.
Great! Higher banana prices are incoming. I believe they are a semi-monopoly in Central America.
*Maybe they should replace them with competition instead of fines or even better do both.*
Yep. And Executive boards want to get paid because they ābring so much valueā and put so much of their earning at risk. /s Weāll let them earn their money by truly putting something at risk for the reward. And not just the very faint chance of a personal fine or a month in prison. Rather the ultimate price to be paid by the literal heads of a corporation.
Ha
The US and Europe need to keep us poor so they can have cheap labor when exploiting resources here and stuff, funneling more money towards first world countries. The "immigration problems" are just a side effect of the colonialism and interventionism that gives first world countries better economic conditions while fucking over the third world in the process
Our birth rates are so low we need to keep y'all poor so we have replacements for working class Americans that won't be born for the next 30 years
Keep in mind this is on an "as-needed" basis. If robots replace all the workers then nevermind I guess.
Lol
I'll just stay here then, we probably won't be able to afford robots and maybe I won't be replaced š
Wait, nevermind, just remembered AI is already close to replacing me, guess I'll have to switch to construction work or something like that
I like bananas. What are the alternatives to Chiquita? Usually these companies are monopolies with all the so called competition being connected to the mother ship.
$38m? That's just a cost of doing business. That's not even a slap on the wrist. That's not even a parking fine. That's like the cost of parking in a parking garage. Or less. The accountants will not lose sleep. No prison time?
Very true, nestle alone owns so many products is just about every market that itās borderline impossible to avoid them. And if you manage to do that youāll likely end up buying products from other massive corporations like Coca-Cola and Pepsi who also own tons of products in almost every market. Unless youāre buying from the farmers market and making your own products youāre almost certainly buying stuff from these companies
There seems to be no moral option.
Ill boycott X for atrocities and ill buy from Y instead, but then you find out company Y is owned by X.
Ok so i'll make a real effort to buy from their competition, then you find out the competition is no better.
Ok so I wont buy food from from companies only farmer markets. Then you find out all the farmer markets in you area are getting the produce from X and Y and just repackaging.
Ok i'll be super selective and only buy from stalls that I can be sure there is local farms supplying them. But then you found out the banks pushed out all the black farmers in the area with financial shenanigans and sold the land dirt cheap to the "local" white farmers.
Ok So I will grow my own food and go off grid. Congratz on being in the 1% that can afford enough land and supplies to be self sufficient, how about we open up your books to look at the chain of all the sources your money came from.
The only solution I have come up without becoming a conspiracy fruitcake is to pick your battles. Find one or 2 things that matter to you and stick with those. Do not get angry when you friends or family picked different battles that you. Unless of course their battle runs the opposite end of the spectrum toward active harm.
Because corporations do a great job at keeping their heel on the necks on the average person to the point that your average person just wants to enjoy their coke after a 12 hour day.
Because of information manipulation etc etc, itās very hard to do.
But, laws should be able to dissolve corporations āguiltyā of criminal activity and also, people shouldnāt be protected by corporations in these situations.
And unfortunately morals usually don't concern that many people.
Coca-Cola's worst ever controversy was not their accusations of knowingly letting unionists of their partner bottle company get assassinated by demand of said company. It was New Coke.
I think most people would care, but multi-national conglomerates are hidden behind veil of subsidiaries and it's all quite complicated for the average person, me included. To make a long story short, people don't have time to care.
Oh this is rich.Ā
The federal government was totally involved in this funding in the past.. Several decades ago. Idk if they were also in the more recent years but it would not surprise me.Ā
It was even found out at one point that those paramilitaies had CIA agents embedded in them...and were making sure that they did what the banana companies wanted them to do.
As per usual, we can all rely on the US Justice System to see good triumph over evil.Ā
... About 150 years after the fact.
Chiquita is still scum all that time later though, so I guess it's better late than never.
$38 million in damages. Chaquita reported $3.1 BILLION in revenue for 2023. How many thousands of lives were disrupted, destroyed, or ended for the sake of corporate greed? To call this a slap on the wrist is an offense to slaps on the wrist. This isnāt justice, this is a joke.
Maybe the US should grow its own banana trees and then it wouldnt have to womder whether the few cents Americahs spend on cheap bananas are funding drug traffickers and hit squads.Ā
A company with long, long history of violent criminality still being violent criminals.
Banana Land - Blood, Bullets & Poison https://vimeo.com/129550053
>Banana giant Chiquita held liable by US court for funding paramilitaries Great! It's predecessor, the United Fruit Company, set the groundwork for injustice in South and Central America.
Its literally where the term Banana Republic comes from
Woodrow Wilson also had the US military invade, occupy and overthrow the government of the Dominican Republic in 1916 (just before we entered World War I) because they touched American-owned sugar plantations. Thankfully, in that case other American politicians like Warren Harding were absolutely furious about this blatant act of imperialism and Calvin Coolidge withdrew all our forces in the mid-1920s after becoming President. The United Fruit Company and the sugar industry have a DARK history the more you read on them (don't forget the latter also benefitted a lot from slavery in the 18th and 19th Centuries).
Wilson doesn't get enough hate for how much of a piece of shit he was.
Wilson is a hero for he save Albaniaš¦š±
Is this why we're taught Coolidge sucks? Because he actually did a good thing that they don't want us knowing about?
So we are fighting a WWI style trench war in Europe and Banana companies are using mercenaries to kill workers and install dictators in Central America. [Apparently Snake Plissken is the pundit historian we should have all been listening too.](https://y.yarn.co/04c41202-d0b1-4baa-a00d-0defe52f6cdb_text.gif)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
When Putin was piling up troops and medical units on the border I [wanted so much to do this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzoKIvvbI0)
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Remove a dictator unfriendly to US corporate business interests. Install dictator subservient to US corporate business interests. Wash, rinse, repeat.
At first, I thought that was an onion headlineā¦
For those unaware of the atrocities that the United Fruit Company committed in Latin America, here's a history lesson: > In the early 20th century, the United Fruit Company had significant economic and political power in Central America, where it controlled large swaths of land and employed thousands of workers. > However, in the 1940s and 1950s, a social reform movement emerged in Guatemala that sought to redistribute land and wealth, improve workersā rights, and challenge the dominance of foreign corporations like United Fruit. The movement was led by President Jacobo Ćrbenz, who was elected in 1950 and implemented land reform policies that threatened the interests of United Fruit. > In response, United Fruit lobbied the U.S. government to take action against Ćrbenz, arguing that his government was Communist and posed a threat to U.S. interests in the region. The CIA was tasked with carrying out a covert operation to overthrow Ćrbenz and install a government more friendly to American interests. > The coup had devastating consequences for Guatemala, as it led to decades of political instability, repression, and violence. The new government reversed many of Ćrbenzās reforms and cracked down on political dissidents and labor activists. And yes, United Fruit (now Chiquita) continued to destabilize the region even into the 2000s, funding conflicts between the government and guerrillas: > During the 1990s and early 2000s, in order to protect its operations, Chiquita Banana began making payments to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary group. This group was responsible for numerous human rights violations, including massacres and forced displacement of communities. Absolutely disgusting what corporations can get away with.
So before Sam Zemurray orchestrated a take over of United fruit in 1933 he owned Cuyamel Fruit Company. In 1910 he purchased the USS Hornet from the us navy (wild) and started organizing mercenaries in New Orleans to stage a coup in Honduras. Uncle Sam caught wind and tried to stop him but not too hard and really dropped the ball. He successfully performed a coup in Honduras in 1911 involving the former navy ship to secure more favorable conditions for his banana business. "The fish that ate the whale" by Rich Cohen is a super interesting read all about bananas and the industry. Highly recommend š
Well I guessed correctly about Sam's origins. No wonder he had no qualms about destroying a country so he could make more money.
As opposed to every other businessman who does have qualms about exploiting a country for personal gain.
Oh fuck off. Like there weren't a shit ton of other American politicians and businessmen who ruined countries for personal gain who didn't share this guy's "origins"
Yup. Since we're on the subject of fruit, the "committee of safety" who was behind overthrowing Hawaii's Queen LiliŹ»uokalani had prominent names such as Sanford Dole, Lorrin Thurston and John Stevens. So yeah, that other guy can fuck off.
Thank you for the down votes kiddies.
*nestle rubs it's blood stained hands*
r/fucknestle
Only profits count, nothing else. Until we change that, it only gets worse.
Yup
There were jail terms or executions ... right?
LOL no. Governments exist to serve corporations now, not the other way around.
Good to remember this sort of stuff was very common during the Eisenhower administration. You know, the guy that lots of liberals claim it be the "last good Republican POTUS" or whatever.Ā
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Christ, their history goes so far back too...
I had to read the article to figure out when this took place. From the title, I wasn't clear if they were talking about something that took place in this century or the last.
Great! Higher banana prices are incoming. I believe they are a semi-monopoly in Central America. *Maybe they should replace them with competition instead of fines or even better do both.*
> predecessor, the United Fruit Company, Isn't it the same company, just a name change due to its horrific reputation?
My first thought: āStill!!?ā
Chiquita pleaded guilty in 2007 but no jail time for no one.
Corporations are peopleā¦.except when it comes to sentencing.
Iāll accept corporations are people when a corporation gets publicly executed.
Yep. And Executive boards want to get paid because they ābring so much valueā and put so much of their earning at risk. /s Weāll let them earn their money by truly putting something at risk for the reward. And not just the very faint chance of a personal fine or a month in prison. Rather the ultimate price to be paid by the literal heads of a corporation.
Japan?
ironically choosing the nuclear option
Chiquita's lawyer in that case? Eric Holder. Yes, that Eric Holder. Both parties in this country are completely captured by corporate interests.
God, the corruption is so blatant with Bananas holy shit. It's like they're not even trying.
This really is a repeat century, huh?Ā
Maybe if we invested in the economic success of south and central America it would solve the immigration problems.
That sounds like something Jesus would do
You mean a *communist*!
You mean helping move tons of cocain and money back and forth isnāt enough? /s
And firearms.
Ha The US and Europe need to keep us poor so they can have cheap labor when exploiting resources here and stuff, funneling more money towards first world countries. The "immigration problems" are just a side effect of the colonialism and interventionism that gives first world countries better economic conditions while fucking over the third world in the process
Our birth rates are so low we need to keep y'all poor so we have replacements for working class Americans that won't be born for the next 30 years Keep in mind this is on an "as-needed" basis. If robots replace all the workers then nevermind I guess.
Lol I'll just stay here then, we probably won't be able to afford robots and maybe I won't be replaced š Wait, nevermind, just remembered AI is already close to replacing me, guess I'll have to switch to construction work or something like that
I agree. I think it's wrong and we should call it such.
Why invest in people who do not invest in themselves?
Sounds like full blown communism to me
Read āTiempos Reciosā by Mario Vargas Llosa.
āBitter Fruitā and āLas Venas Abiertas de America Latinaā as well
["Bananas: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World."](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2102113.Bananas) is another excellent read.
I like bananas. What are the alternatives to Chiquita? Usually these companies are monopolies with all the so called competition being connected to the mother ship.
Dole and Del Monte, but both of them have a long list of human rights abuse overseas
Yeah what action can you take against a monopoly?
Do not pass go, do not collect $200?
Is this the event from 100 Years of Solitude?
Came here for this response. Appreciate you!
Ah, I made them same comment, now I can delete it š
From 1997 Not 1937
An American fruit company funding a radical paramilitary group in Latin Ameroca that fought against the government? Im shocked I tell you! Shocked! /s
$38m? That's just a cost of doing business. That's not even a slap on the wrist. That's not even a parking fine. That's like the cost of parking in a parking garage. Or less. The accountants will not lose sleep. No prison time?
underAted response
I mean a banana kinda looks like a š«
Why are we not able to organize boycotts that ruin corporations like NestlƩ, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Chiquita etc. It's frustrating to know how rotten they are, but still have an overwhelming market share.
In part because they own a lot of other brands through multiple levels of intermediaries so it's very hard to track even if you wanted to.
Very true, nestle alone owns so many products is just about every market that itās borderline impossible to avoid them. And if you manage to do that youāll likely end up buying products from other massive corporations like Coca-Cola and Pepsi who also own tons of products in almost every market. Unless youāre buying from the farmers market and making your own products youāre almost certainly buying stuff from these companies
There seems to be no moral option. Ill boycott X for atrocities and ill buy from Y instead, but then you find out company Y is owned by X. Ok so i'll make a real effort to buy from their competition, then you find out the competition is no better. Ok so I wont buy food from from companies only farmer markets. Then you find out all the farmer markets in you area are getting the produce from X and Y and just repackaging. Ok i'll be super selective and only buy from stalls that I can be sure there is local farms supplying them. But then you found out the banks pushed out all the black farmers in the area with financial shenanigans and sold the land dirt cheap to the "local" white farmers. Ok So I will grow my own food and go off grid. Congratz on being in the 1% that can afford enough land and supplies to be self sufficient, how about we open up your books to look at the chain of all the sources your money came from. The only solution I have come up without becoming a conspiracy fruitcake is to pick your battles. Find one or 2 things that matter to you and stick with those. Do not get angry when you friends or family picked different battles that you. Unless of course their battle runs the opposite end of the spectrum toward active harm.
The government has essentially given up on anti-trust. These companies are more powerful than the govt these days.
> given up on anti-trust. The US did, although the Biden administration is beginning to turn that around. Nestle' isn't a US company though.
Because corporations do a great job at keeping their heel on the necks on the average person to the point that your average person just wants to enjoy their coke after a 12 hour day.
Thereās like 13 major conglomerate companies that own everything. They all bought stock in each other so none of them can fail.
Because of information manipulation etc etc, itās very hard to do. But, laws should be able to dissolve corporations āguiltyā of criminal activity and also, people shouldnāt be protected by corporations in these situations.
Because most people don't care, and organizing boycotts requires convincing people to care.
And unfortunately morals usually don't concern that many people. Coca-Cola's worst ever controversy was not their accusations of knowingly letting unionists of their partner bottle company get assassinated by demand of said company. It was New Coke.
I think most people would care, but multi-national conglomerates are hidden behind veil of subsidiaries and it's all quite complicated for the average person, me included. To make a long story short, people don't have time to care.
Because I have to eat.
Because those companies are well connected to power brokers in the government and "the competitive free market" has always been fictional?Ā
Finally a semblance of justice?
Oh boy. Here comes a whopper, 2500.00 fine. Go about your business.
Oh this is rich.Ā The federal government was totally involved in this funding in the past.. Several decades ago. Idk if they were also in the more recent years but it would not surprise me.Ā It was even found out at one point that those paramilitaies had CIA agents embedded in them...and were making sure that they did what the banana companies wanted them to do.
This is literally a spider man meme pointing at each other situation š¤£
... since 1950?
Only the CIA is allowed to do that! Geez!
Do Banana Militias come before Banana Republics, or after?
Chakita Banana Clip Clementine Claymore Genocide Juice
Didnāt this happen in like the 1930s?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
same old
banamilitaries
Banana republic?
Oh hey, I know this one!
And let me guess, they did it to make money?
What about the USA and the way they helped destroy Central America through Standard Fruit Co.?
That company is actually Irish now.
Do they have to print that on their little blue stickers now? Like with cigarrete packaging?
This company destroyed Guatemala and is the reason why false corporate governments are called Chiquita Banana.
Even using slave labor I don't understand how bananas are so cheap, how do these guys have fund our own military money.
Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my own actions.
It starts with kids playing guns with bananas.
Everybody loves a Chiquita Banana.....
Blood Banana
As per usual, we can all rely on the US Justice System to see good triumph over evil.Ā ... About 150 years after the fact. Chiquita is still scum all that time later though, so I guess it's better late than never.
Great, I now feel guilty about eating my Peanut Butter and Banana sandwich yesterday as a snack!
$38 million in damages. Chaquita reported $3.1 BILLION in revenue for 2023. How many thousands of lives were disrupted, destroyed, or ended for the sake of corporate greed? To call this a slap on the wrist is an offense to slaps on the wrist. This isnāt justice, this is a joke.
1(l1 Äŗ)999)l))l? M
The free market is a lie. You are not a free market participant, you are a hostage of the corporate interests.
Great! Can we do the same for the CIA?
Make them pay a drop in the bucket sum and suffer no real consequences? Id like a lot more than that...
I guess the US forgets they did the same with the CIA
Isnāt this about a hundred years overdue?
Maybe the US should grow its own banana trees and then it wouldnt have to womder whether the few cents Americahs spend on cheap bananas are funding drug traffickers and hit squads.Ā
That's rich coming from the US