The moral of this story may be this simple: Careful choosing countries in which you do business. Cuidado!
A secondary moral: Be even more careful about paying for protection once there.
Chiquita Banana began doing business in Colombia and in 1997 realized that there were dangers everywhere. So, in 1997, Chiquita began paying the United Self-Defense Forces (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary group to provide protection for drug traffickers and businesspeople against leftist guerrilla groups.
Let’s just recognize this safety tip: When you are on the same side as the drug traffickers there are bound be some murders.
Talk about ethical dilemmas. How does one keep track of who’s killing whom? And are there any good guys?
In 2001, the United States designated AUC a foreign terrorist organization. Chiquita was, therefore, violating U.S. laws by paying AUC. Chiquita settled up with the Justice Department in 2007 with a guilty plea for dishing out $1.7 mil to the AUCers. Chiquita then quit paying AUC.
But, many farmers in the area were killed in the exchanges of gunfire amongst the warring groups. So, the farmers and their families filed suit against Chiquita for the deaths in the crossfire and for funding the violence that drove them off their lands and then scooping up that acreage at cheap prices.
The lawsuits began in 2007. One of Chiquita’s defenses was that it was not clear who shot whom during the Colombian civil war. The war did end in 2016 with a peace agreement between the Colombian government and the leftist guerillas.
Yet another Chiquita defense was that it only paid the money to AUC to protect its employees and farmers. A jury in South Florida saw it differently and awarded the farmers and their families (16 total) a $38.3-million verdict.
There are more suits pending. And there are leaders in Colombia asking the justice system there to hold businesspeople accountable for their roles in the ongoing war. So far, the suits have been only in the U.S.
So, back to the beginning — be careful where you do business because there are lots of rocks and hard places. No matter what you do and whose side you are on, there can be 31 years of challenges, including exchanges of gunfire and a multi-million -dollar jury verdict.
About mmjdiary
Professor Marianne Jennings is an emeritus professor of legal and ethical studies from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, retiring in 2011 after 35 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in ethics and the legal environment of business. During her tenure at ASU, she served as director of the Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics from 1995-1999. In 2006, she was appointed faculty director for the W.P. Carey Executive MBA Program. She has done consulting work for businesses and professional groups including AICPA, Boeing, Dial Corporation, Edward Jones, Mattel, Motorola, CFA Institute, Southern California Edison, the Institute of Internal Auditors, AIMR, DuPont, AES, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Motorola, Hy-Vee Foods, IBM, Bell Helicopter, Amgen, Raytheon, and VIAD.
The sixth edition of her textbook, Case Studies in Business Ethics, was published in February 2011. The ninth edition of her textbook, Business: lts Legal, Ethical and Global Environment was published in January 2011. The 23rd edition of her book, Business Law: Principles and Cases, will be published in January 2013. The tenth edition of her book, Real Estate Law, will also be published in January 2013. Her book, A Business Tale: A Story of Ethics, Choices, Success, and a Very Large Rabbit, a fable about business ethics, was chosen by Library Journal in 2004 as its business book of the year. A Business Tale was also a finalist for two other literary awards for 2004. In 2000 her book on corporate governance was published by the New York Times MBA Pocket Series. Her book on long-term success, Building a Business Through Good Times and Bad: Lessons from Fifteen Companies, Each With a Century of Dividends, was published in October 2002 and has been used by Booz, Allen, Hamilton for its work on business longevity. Her latest book, The Seven Signs of Ethical Collapse was published by St. Martin’s Press in July 2006 and has been a finalist for two book awards.
Her weekly columns are syndicated around the country, and her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Reader's Digest. A collection of her essays, Nobody Fixes Real Carrot Sticks Anymore, first published in 1994 is still being published. She has been a commentator on business issues on All Things Considered for National Public Radio.
She has served on four boards of directors, including Arizona Public Service (1987-2000), Zealous Capital Corporation, and the Center for Children with Chronic Illness and Disability at the University of Minnesota. She was appointed to the board of advisors for the Institute of Nuclear Power Operators in 2004 and served on the board of trustees for Think Arizona, a public policy think tank. She has appeared on CNBC, CBS This Morning, the Today Show, and CBS Evening News.
In 2010 she was named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Business Ethics by Trust Across America. Her books have been translated into four different languages. She received the British Emerald award for authoring one of their top 50 articles in management publications, chosen from over 15,000 articles.
Personal: Married since 1976 to Terry H. Jennings, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Deputy County Attorney; five children: Sarah, Sam, and John, and the late Claire and Hannah Jennings.
