It is clear that most HNers aren't reading the article. This has nothing to do with the UFC's "banana republic" atrocities, and seems to be a rather unjust situation:<p>- Chiquita was forced to pay "protection money" to the AUC. Read: <i>"pay us or we kill your employees and burn your plantations to the ground."</i><p>- Chiquita makes the payment and alerts the Department of Justice that they were forced to pay under duress.<p>- The AUC kills 8 people, as cartels tend to do.<p>- Chiquita is held accountable.<p>This does not seem reasonable: First you get extorted at threat to life/property, then you get punished for getting extorted. Furthermore, it's tenuous <i>at best</i> to say "8 people died because you paid the AUC." The AUC kills/maims/tortures children every day for fun. This is not an exaggeration, most people will never comprehend the sheer evil of these organizations.<p>Calling for the execution[1] of Chiquita execs as some HNers are doing is absurd. Should Chiquita just let their employees get tortured to death and watch their properties burn to the ground?<p>Perhaps the government of Columbia itself should be responsible for not exterminating its cartels, and instead allowing them to infiltrate the deepest ranks of its military and government.<p>[1]: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40663586">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40663586</a>