Article
Hearing to focus on alleged ties of U.S. firm to [Colombian] militias
Edwin Guzmán, a plump, one-time Colombian army sergeant turned paramilitary foot soldier, said he is ready to testify at a congressional hearing in Washington today that his military units worked in tandem with illegal militia groups…and that a U.S. company aided the militias. The former sergeant's testimony is part of a widening probe of U.S. companies' alleged ties to right-wing militias in Colombia...[Drummond] officials have said repeatedly that the company has had no contact with the paramilitaries...Drummond [as well as Chiquita and Coca-Cola face]…civil lawsuits in U.S. courtrooms for their alleged ties to illegal armed groups in Colombia.