Protesters are set to hold banana giant Chiquita to account over the alleged funding of terrorist groups in Colombia this week.
Chiquita will hold its annual stockholders' meeting in Cincinnati in the US on Wednesday but the event is set to be dogged by protests, according to Cincinnati CityBeat.
Two human rights groups, Witness for Peace and the 8th Day Center for Justice, will campaign for compensation for the families of victims of terrorist groups in Colombia.
The banana group made payments to groups alleged to have murdered thousands of peasants and workers in the region.
Chiquita pleaded guilty to paying Colombian terrorist group AUC more than $1.7 million (£1m) between 1997 and 2004 in a court case in March 2007.
Chiquita will pay a $25 million criminal fine over five years under the terms of the plea agreement.
The company faced warnings from lawyers over continuing to make payments after it had voluntarily disclosed around 50 payments to US Justice Department officials in April 2003. The US State Department deemed AUC a terrorist organisation in 2001, triggering the disclosure of the payments.
In a press release, the 8th Day Center for Justice said: “No compensation will be paid to the families of the victims. Join the demonstration in Cincinnati to hold Chiquita accountable for its human rights crimes. Remind the Chiquita shareholders that they are complicit in the crimes committed by the paramilitary troops.”
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