A Florida jury found Chiquita Brands International liable for financing the Colombian paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), ordering the banana company to pay $38.3 million to the families of eight victims.

The jury determined Chiquita knowingly provided substantial assistance to the AUC, creating a foreseeable risk of harm. Chiquita, planning to appeal, stated there was no legal basis for the claims.

In 2007, Chiquita pleaded guilty to making over 100 payments to the AUC, totaling over $1.7 million, and was fined $25 million by the US government, CNN has reported.

An unnamed executive had claimed the payments were made under threat of violence. Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, questioned why a similar ruling had not been made in Colombia.

Written by B.C. Begley