On Monday, a Florida jury determined that Chiquita Brands should pay compensation of $38.3 million to the families of eight individuals slain by a right-wing paramilitary faction in Colombia, CBS News reported.

Chiquita must pay $38.3 million to the families of eight individuals killed by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia — known by its Spanish acronym AUC.

The banana producer had funded the group for several years amid the nation's civil war.

The company admitted to funding the AUC, pleading guilty in 2007 to U.S. Department of Justice charges of making payments to a "terrorist organization." These payments, made between 1997 and 2004, were described by Chiquita as "security payments."

EarthRights International, representing one family in the case, hailed the decision as the first time a U.S. jury has held a corporation liable for human rights violations abroad. Chiquita still faces numerous other claims from AUC victims, which may lead to further trials or a potential "global settlement," said Marco Simons, EarthRights general counsel, during a press conference.

"Chiquita had a very high degree of understanding of the armed conflict in Colombia," Simons stated. "This wasn't some bumbling U.S. corporation that didn't know what was going on in the country where it was operating."

As a part of its defense, the company claims its Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, made the payments out of fear for the safety of its employees and operations. However, Chiquita executives testified during the trial that the payments were voluntary, contradicting the defense that they were made under duress.

The six-week trial concluded with two days of jury deliberations. The AUC, designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" by the U.S. State Department in 2001, received nearly $2 million from Chiquita, according to the Justice Department.

Marissa Vahlsing, EarthRights' director of transnational legal strategy, noted that Chiquita expanded operations in Colombia's banana-growing regions as land prices fell during the conflict. This expansion allegedly increased the company's vulnerability to the leftist rebel group FARC, prompting it to seek protection from the AUC.

Simons remarked on the brutality of the AUC, sharing harrowing testimonies from survivors, including a young girl who witnessed the murder of her parents by the group. "We think the jury saw through Chiquita's defense that they were threatened and had to make payments to save lives," Simons said.

One former Chiquita executive testified that while the payments concerned him as a human being, they were not part of his deliberation as the chief accounting officer. "That is, unfortunately, the way a lot of the multinational folks think," Simons said. "They check their humanity at the door when they engage in business practices."

Chiquita announced plans to appeal the verdict. "The situation in Colombia was tragic for so many, including those directly affected by the violence there, and our thoughts remain with them and their families," the company said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. "However, that does not change our belief that there is no legal basis for these claims."

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