Daily Headlines: June 6, 2012

* Paraguay: President Fernando Lugo, who has been named in four paternity lawsuits, admitted that he fathered a child years ago when he was still a Roman Catholic bishop.

* Latin America: According to a MIT study “95 percent of major cities in Latin America are planning for climate change, compared to only 59 percent of such cities in the United States”.

* Central America: More than 1000 banana plantation workers from Costa Rica and Panama are suing a group of companies including Dole and Dow Chemical over alleged pesticide poisoning.

* El Salvador: A World Bank arbitration panel ruled that Canadian mining firm Pacific Rim can go ahead with their case against the Salvadoran government.

Video Source – YouTube via canalNTN24

Online Sources- Reuters, MIT News Office, Bloomberg, BBC News

Daily Headlines: October 5, 2011

* Haiti: Over 700,000 children will reportedly attend school for free as part of a new national education fund partially subsidized by fees on phone calls and remittances to Haiti.

* Nicaragua: Dole settled a multibillion-dollar lawsuit from Nicaraguan farm laborers who claimed that they were injured from working with poisoned chemicals.

* U.S.: A statement from Univision denied allegations of blackmail against Rep. Marco Rubio though it remains to be seen if three Republican presidential hopefuls will rescind plans to boycott an upcoming televised debate.

* Argentina: The country’s top court rejected a French extradition request for an ex-navy captain convicted in absentia for two “Dirty War” era murders.

Image – Al Jazeera English via YouTube

Online Sources- AP, Reuters, CBS News

Daily Headlines: March 16, 2011

* Mexico: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored two decisive goals to help Manchester United progress into the Champions League quarterfinals.

* Nicaragua: Representatives for Dole Foods claimed that a federal court dismissed a lawsuit brought up by allegedly poisoned Nicaraguan plantation workers.

* Chile: Variety show host Don Francisco (real name: Mario Kreutzberger) denied tampering with the DNA testing being used in a paternity lawsuit against him.

* Venezuela: Hundreds of students, professors, and workers marched through the streets of Caracas yesterday calling for more public spending on universities.

Image – Reuters via IOL (“Manchester United's Javier Hernandez celebrates with Wayne Rooney (right) after scoring his second goal during their Champions League soccer match against Olympique Marseille at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England.”)
Online Sources- UPI, Press TV, RTT News, The Latin Americanist, The Telegraph

Daily Headlines: August 2, 2010

* Latin America: Several gay couples in Argentina were wed on Friday under the country’s recently passed same-sex marriage law while a Chilean senator said yesterday that he will soon introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage.

* Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has offered to grant asylum to an Iranian woman sentenced to execution by stoning for her supposed adultery.

* Nicaragua: A U.S. judge overturned a $2.4 million verdict in favor of Nicaraguan workers who claimed they were poisoned by pesticides at plantations run by Dole Foods.

* Ecuador: A verdict in the multibillion-dollar environmental damages case against Chevron may not be reached until next year according to remarks made by the trial’s judge to Reuters.

Image – Foreign Policy (Protests for and against Argentina’s gay marriage proposal took place in the weeks leading to the bill’s approval in the legislature).
Online Sources- Reuters, CNN, Buenos Aires Herald, The Guardian

Lights, camera, deception?

The case against Dole Foods over the alleged poising of Nicaraguan farm workers has taken a turn for the strange.

In 2007 a U.S. federal court awarded six ex-Dole workers with $2.3 million after they claimed that pesticides used on Nicaraguan plantations made them sterile. Dole has since tried to get that decision dismissed and have accused the workers of being bribed to make false statements against the food giant. An attorney for the Nicaraguans countered and this week claimed that lawyers for Dole tried to pay off witnesses by promising to relocate them in Costa Rica and give them cushy jobs.

The latest twist emerged on Thursday when a filmmaker said that he went to Nicaragua as “an undercover operative” for a Texas law firm suing Dole. "I decided to work with the firm and help with the legal process…I decided to use the film for that purpose," said Jason Glaser who added that the Provost-Umphrey law firm paid him and his crew about $17,000 monthly. Glaser also admitted that he “shared information with a Nicaraguan lawyer who held rallies to denounce Dole” and that he viewed the accusations of the plaintiffs as a “a troubling issue."

Unusually Glaser was called to the stand not be Dole lawyers but by plaintiffs attorney Steve Condie who tired to plant doubt on the defense:

Condie accused them of withholding the information for tactical reasons, but Dole attorney Theodore Boutrous said that was "absurd." Boutrous said admissible evidence was required to bring such an allegation to the court and, "admissible evidence didn't exist."

Glaser is expected to return to the witness stand later today.

Image- CBS News (“A former banana worker walks outside of the shack in front of Nicaragua's National Assembly in Managua, Wednesday, July 11, 2007.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, San Jose Mercury News, SFGate.com, ABC News

Daily Headlines: July 8, 2010

* Nicaragua: In the latest chapter in the legal war between Dole and Nicaraguan plantation workers, an attorney for the laborers claimed that the food company bribed witnesses in exchange for favorable testimony.

* Latin America: Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua are among the countries most at risk economically from natural disasters according to a study by a British consulting firm.

* Costa Rica: President Laura Chinchilla has come under fire for authorizing U.S. warships and Marines to be in Costa Rican waters.

* Mexico: Mexico City officials claimed there have been at least 271 gay marriages since it became legalized over four months ago.

Image – indpendent.co.uk (Still taken from “Bananas*!”, a documentary that alleges that Dole used dangerous pesticides around Nicaraguan laborers.)
Online Sources- AP, insidecostarica.com, MSNBC, Reuters

Daily Headlines: June 10, 2010

* Mexico: The fallout from the Border Patrol shooting of a Mexican teen continued with the F.B.I. starting their investigation into the incident. (The above video via Univision shows some Not Safe for Work amateur video of the shooting).

* U.S.: For the second time in three years, Homeland Security proposed raising fees for certain types of immigration services including work permits and green cards.

* Nicaragua: The U.S. judge presiding over a lawsuit by Nicaraguan workers against food giant Dole claimed that statements were made in that country accusing her of corruption.

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales was reportedly reelected to head Bolivia’s main coca growers union.

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Reuters, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: May 14, 2010

* Cuba: Folk singer Silvio Rodriguez (image) and ballerina Alicia Alonso will perform in the U.S. for the first time in decades after being granted visas by the State Department.

* Brazil: Not all Brazilian Church officials are as daft as Archbishop Dadeus Grings; yesterday the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops condemned abuse by clergy and called on prompt investigations.

* Nicaragua: Dole Foods claims that Nicaraguan farm workers who testified against the firm in a 2007 case where bribed into giving false testimony.

* Uruguay: Atletico Madrid won the inaugural Europa League in no small part due to Uruguayan Diego Forlan’s pair of goals.

Image – BBC News
Online Sources- Xinhua, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times, The Latin Americanist, Reuters

Dole goes “Bananas!” over documentary

Last month we mentioned how execs for Dole Food where peeved at a documentary called “Bananas!” The film portrayed Los Angeles-based lawyer Juan Dominguez who represented Nicaraguan plantation workers allegedly sterilized by chemicals used at the job. (A California judge has tried to dismiss the case after concluding that Dominguez lied and coerced plaintiffs to sign false affidavits). Dole’s attorneys even threatened to sue of a Los Angeles film festival for screening the documentary.

Not content with plans by the creator behind “Bananas!” to sell the film and work a distribution deal, Dole lawyers have flexed their legal muscle to try and stop him:

The Dole Food Co. has sued a Swedish filmmaker (Fredrik Gertten) and his company for defamation over a documentary that the food company says contains "patent falsehoods."

The conglomerate says the film's story about Nicaraguan workers who take Dole to court claiming they were made sterile through the company's pesticide use is inaccurate.

"To screen, promote, and profit from this film, despite the fact that its entire premise has been adjudicated a fraud ... is the epitome of reckless and irresponsible conduct," Dole lawyer Theodore Boutrous Jr., wrote in the suit.

"It cannot possibly be justified or defended. It must stop."

In response to Dole’s actions, Gertten’s lawyer said that Dole’s lawsuit is “without merit” and represents "the latest in a continued line of intimidating harassment by a multinational corporation aimed at a small, independent film and its filmmakers." In addition, Dole’s strategy could backfire in that filing a defamation suit against Gertten could attract undue attention. (e.g. This blog post in particular; the mainstream press).

To reiterate the question we posed last month “is ‘Bananas!’ a propaganda piece or a legitimate film?” Here’s the film’s trailer so you can make your own judgment:

Online Sources- BusinessWeek, CBC, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Dole unhappy over documentary on Nicaragua

Dole food company is pretty peeved over a documentary highlighting a case brought up by Nicaraguan plantation laborers.

Entitled “Bananas!” the film by Sweden’s Fredrik Gertten is what he calls a “classical David-Goliath story” between downtrodden workers and a massive multinational firm. Representatives of the company vehemently disagree and are flexing their muscle to make sure the documentary is kept under wraps:

In the eyes of Dole Food Co., Gertten's film is an egregiously flawed document based on what Dole lawyer Scott Edelman calls "a phony story" that has been discredited by the allegedly fraudulent conduct of the L.A. attorney, Juan J. Dominguez, at the film's center. Dole, the world's largest producer of fruits and vegetables, is vowing to sue both the filmmaker and the Los Angeles Film Festival for defamation if it screens the movie this week.

In the view of the festival, which plans to host the movie's world premiere on Saturday, "Bananas!" is an intriguing object lesson that raises important questions about the conduct of U.S. companies abroad, the practices of American attorneys representing foreign workers and the ethical choices facing a documentary filmmaker who has been told after finishing his film that some of his material may be shaky, if not outright false.

In 2007, a federal judge awarded $2.5 million in damages to the plaintiffs though another justice would later dismiss that ruling. The Nicaraguan workers claimed that Dole knowingly used a banned pesticide, yet the courts are attempting to toss out the case.

While Dole may’ve won this case, there’s another one pending whose plaintiffs are Colombian workers accusing the firm of hiring illegal paramilitaries.

Is “Bananas!” a propaganda piece or a legitimate film? You be the judge:

Online Sources- Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The Latin Americanist, YouTube, Wall Street Journal

Dole Foods in Colombian paramilitary lawsuit

A lawsuit filed last week alleged that Dole Foods were in cahoots with Colombian paramilitaries.

Much like a previous lawsuit against fellow banana importers Chiquita, the plaintiffs claimed that the company knowingly hired rightist paramilitaries to intimidate and murder labor union activists. One of the attorneys for the plaintiffs said that he will use testimony from a former paramilitary commander who admitted responsibility for some of the deaths mentioned in the suit and claimed that Dole made regular payments to his cohorts.

A statement from Dole denied the “baseless allegations” brought up in the lawsuit. “These terrorists have every reason to lie by making false allegations against international companies like Dole in order to minimize their own culpability and reduce their jail time,” mentioned Dole’s Executive Vice President in the statement.

The case was filed days after an NGO report partially blamed paramilitaries for a startling increase in Colombia’s displaced population:

Some 380,000 Colombians were forced from their homes last year by the continuing armed conflict, a local human rights group has said.

The Center for Human Rights and the Displaced, Codhes, says this is a 25% rise on 2008 and brings the total displaced since 1985 to 4.6 million…

"The great majority live in severe conditions of poverty," the Codhes report said, while their own land and property had fallen into the hands of others in a "de facto expropriation".

Image- Guardian UK (“Two members of the AUC paramilitary group search a bus on the road to Santa Fe de Ralito in northern Colombia.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, AP, businesswire.com

Daily Headlines: April 27, 2009

* Nicaragua: A California judge on Thursday dismissed two pesticide lawsuits against Dole that were brought up by Nicaraguan plantation workers.

* Latin America: Films from Chile, Uruguay and Peru are in the running for top honors at next month’s Cannes Critics' Week.

* Cuba: Three out of every five people in the U.S. support reestablishing diplomatic ties with Cuba according to a recent Gallup poll.

* Dominican Republic: Amnesty International warned that certain “constitutional and legal reforms” being considered by the government could hurt the rights of women.

Image- ABC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, Amnesty International, AFP, UPI

Dole fights back in sterilization case

A case against fruit giant Dole took a sharp turn this week as the accused became the accuser.

Lawyers for Dole claimed that attorneys working for the plaintiffs illegally recruited clients to make fake claims against the company regarding a pesticide known as DBCP. The lawyers contended that a California-based lawyer and his Nicaraguan partner also accused them of falsifying documents and hiding evidence.

(There has been no reported response from the accused attorneys: Juan Dominguez and Antonio Hernandez Ordenana.)

Former laborers for Dole in several Central American countries said that exposure to DBCP while working on banana plantations led them to become sterile. Though DBCP is banned worldwide, the lawsuit claimed that the company continues to illicitly sell it in poor countries.

In 2007 a jury awarded $2.5 million in punitive damages to five workers. Yet a judge later dismissed those damages after claiming that Dole couldn’t be monetarily punished for injuries in a foreign country.

Image- CBS News (“A former banana worker walks outside of the shack in front of Nicaragua's National Assembly in Managua, Wednesday, July 11, 2007.”)
Online Sources- Reuters, AP, The Latin Americanist

Year’s worst multinationals tied to LatAm

Progressive news website alternet.org released its annual list of the 10 Worst Corporations. Firms like AIG and Cargill were among those named while several other firms were highlighted for their ties to Latin America.

Fruit company Dole was cited for mistreating workers in the Philippines though a labor rights activist also claimed that Costa Rican laborers face a similar situation. Multinational firm GE was placed on the list over allegedly firing a whistleblower who denounced corruption in Brazil. According to a court filing, former company attorney Adriana Koeck accused GE execs in Brazil of participating in a "bribing club" designed to circumvent tax laws.

The biggest wag of the finger related to Latin American was directed at oil giant Chevron. As we’ve mentioned before, a lawsuit in Ecuador claims that Texaco (now owned by Chevron) dumped billions of gallons of toxic wastewater in the Amazonian jungle. One “environmental expert” claimed that the company could lose as much as $16 billion in the lawsuit while the work of Ecuadorian indigenous activists has been recognized abroad.

In addition:

Having argued vociferously that Ecuadorian courts were fair and impartial, Chevron is now unhappy with how the litigation has proceeded in that country. So unhappy, in fact, that it is lobbying the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to impose trade sanctions on Ecuador if the Ecuadorian government does not make the case go away.

(Hat tip: Metafilter).

Image- Newsweek
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Christian Science Monitor, Metafilter, alternet.org, MSNBC