<p style="text-indent:0px; line-height:12px;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Colombia-</span><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">By Jordan Okumura<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">12.12.12</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p>Colombia's Attorney General has reopened a case against Chiquita Brands. The Attorney General pointed to evidence of connivance between the firm and paramilitaries as the reason for reopening the case that was closed set aside in March of this year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Eduardo Montealegre reopened the investigation regarding money that the Uraba and Magdalena paramilitary received from the multinational banana company, according to a report in El Tiempo. The investigation affects thirteen executives within the company. The Attorney General noted that the investigation is also interested in discovering whether other banana companies in the area also contributed money to the AUC.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In March of 2012, a prosecutor in Medellin made the controversial decision to put the case to the side. Several top executives of the company were being investigated at the time.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">In Colombia and the USA the company has assured that they were forced to pay bribes to the paramilitary in order to protect the lives of their employees.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.eltiempo.com/justicia/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-12435115.html" target="_new"> Chiquita </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
