U.S. company denies colluding with death squads to kill Colombia unionists

[Omaha Steve]

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/international/news/20070323p2g00m0in011000c.html

U.S. company denies colluding with death squads to kill Colombia unionists

BOGOTA, Colombia -- The U.S.-based coal company Drummond on Thursday denied any relationship with far-right death squads in Colombia and said it has no intention of settling a U.S. lawsuit that alleges its complicity in the murder of three labor leaders.

A federal judge in Alabama this month allowed a civil suit to go forward against Drummond Co. Inc. for allegedly paying a hit squad to kill three union leaders at one of its Colombian mines in 2001.

Colombia's chief prosecutor on Tuesday also announced a formal criminal investigation into allegations Drummond, based in Birmingham, Alabama, had ties with the paramilitaries.


Drummond's lawyer Hugo Palacios answers questions during a press conference in Bogota, Colombia March 22, 2007. (Reuters)

"Drummond publicly states that it has not nor will it make any payments, agreements or transactions with illegal groups and emphatically denies that the company or any of its executives has had any involvement with the murder of three labor union leaders," the company said in a statement Thursday. "It will not settle with the plaintiffs."

Drummond's defense comes as another U.S. multinational, fruit giant Chiquita Brands, has acknowledged funneling US$1.7 million to far-right paramilitary militias in Colombia. Chiquita has agreed to a fine of US$25 million for funding the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC for its Spanish initials and branded a "foreign terrorist organization" by the U.S. State Department.

FULL story at link.