The ongoing $27 billion civil suit against Chevron in Ecuador has had enough twists and turns to be mistaken for a Tom Clancy bestseller.In the latest development, Wayne Douglas Hansen - who used a camera hidden in a pen to record bribe offers purported to involve a judge from the case and president Rafael Corea's sister - has turned out to be a convicted felon with a long history of run-ins with the law.
Both sides have been battling for the upper hand in the court of public opinion, with Chevron claiming the Ecuadoran political climate makes a fair trial almost impossible and the plaintiffs claiming that original defendant Texaco (purchased by Chevron in 2001) has caused extreme suffering among residents of the Ecuadoran rain forest.
Since Chevron no longer operates in Ecuador and could simply refuse to pay any judgment against it, even a win for the plaintiffs could lead to a rather anticlimactic conclusion to this most compelling of legal thrillers.
Chevron turns to shady characters like Hansen for help.. I guess this shouldn't be surprising looking at all the dirty tricks Chevron has been using from the beginning of this lawsuit. This one backfired right into Chevron's face!
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