West Palm Beach, FL – A former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent testified Friday in the federal trial against Chiquita Brands International Inc., stating that the right-wing paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) was the leading supplier of cocaine and “victimized” the company by using it to smuggle drugs.
David L. Gaddis, who served over 25 years as a DEA special agent, testified for the defense in the West Palm Beach, Florida, federal court. He explained that the AUC was heavily involved in the drug trade and often embedded itself in multinational companies like Chiquita to smuggle drugs and weapons.
Several families whose relatives were allegedly killed or brutalized by the AUC in the late 1990s and early 2000s sued Chiquita in federal multidistrict litigation. The plaintiffs accused the company of funding the militant group with nearly $2 million to protect its business interests in Colombia.
“We found that we were getting a greater bang for our buck by targeting the AUC and the AUC upper command,” Gaddis said. He testified that no legitimate company voluntarily helped the AUC smuggle drugs or weapons, describing these companies as victims.
