Carl H. Lindner Jr., the billionaire Cincinnati businessman, was CEO of Chiquita Brands International from 1984 to 2001, and remained on the company's board of directors until May 2002. Beginning under his tenure, Chiquita executives paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (known by the Spanish acronym AUC), which is described by George Washington University's National Security Archive as an "illegal right-wing anti-guerrilla group tied to many of the country's most notorious civilian massacres."Lindner has hosted a number of fund raisers for McCain, and is on his "Ohio Victory Team".
Following a Justice Department indictment last year, Chiquita admitted to illegally funding the paramilitaries and agreed to pay a $25 million fine. Chiquita's payments to the AUC began in 1997 and lasted seven years; roughly half of the funds came after the group was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department in 2001.
According to the Justice Department, the payments "were reviewed and approved by senior executives" of Chiquita, who knew by no later than September 2000 "that the AUC was a violent, paramilitary organization."
Chiquita also did gun running to the AUC, which I suppose is one way to keep the banana plantation workers from organizing.
And, of course, Mr. Straight Talker also did favors for the guy regarding a land deal in Arizona in the 1990s.
Oh, and I almost forgot, his chief political advisor, Charlie Black, lobbied for both Chiquita and Columbia.
What a bloody witches brew we have here....but the press won't cover it, because McCain is a straight talker and honest.
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