"Banana producers, cooperatives and traders of the Colombian Caribbean, represented in ASBAMA, are standing together against the permanent harassment to which we are subjected by various criminal gangs, which are jeopardizing the security and viability of Colombia's fourth largest agricultural export product; a sector that generates more than 50,000 direct and formal jobs in the country, and which has a great impact on the social and economic development of the communities in its area of influence," said ASBAMA.
"For years, as part of our efforts to tackle illegal activities from criminal groups, producers and marketers have been investing heavily in private security. We are also working closely with the authorities, the Port of Santa Marta and various private companies to protect our operations. However, all these efforts do not seem to be enough to prevent crimes that are keeping us in permanent reputational, commercial and legal risk."
"On November 14, in the village of Comejenes, in La Guajira, and in the afternoon of the same day in the municipality of Zona Bananera del Magdalena, members of criminal groups showed up armed in two farms, intimidating workers, starting fires and causing severe damage to those properties. That's the latest example of the critical situation we are in, in terms of safety, with drug gangs permanently seeking to use banana exports as a vehicle for their illicit activities."
"Faced with this complex situation, the banana companies here represented here been in touch with the Attorney General's Office and provided all the evidentiary material they require for criminal investigations to be carried out. They have also been legally constituted as victims, a status already recognized by the Judges of the Republic."
"Considering all of the above, we are making an urgent distress call to the National Government and to the national and regional authorities, and ask them to take forceful action to protect the safety, work and reputation of more than 50,000 workers in the banana sector in Colombia; an industry that strives to facilitate the country's growth and development."
Source: asbama.com