The largest U.S. lawsuit to date against top banana producer Chiquita Brands International was filed on Wednesday, claiming the company funded and armed a Colombian paramilitary organization accused of killing banana growers. The civil lawsuit seeks a total of $7.86 billion on behalf of 393 victims and their relatives and accuses Chiquita of conspiring with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia…control Colombia's banana growing regions…. Michael Mitchell, a spokesman for Chiquita, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, said the lawsuit "grossly mischaracterized the payments made by Chiquita in Colombia."