Colombia reopens probe into US coal company for militia ties
Source: Associated Press
Updated 11:56 pm CDT, Tuesday, October 30, 2018
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian authorities confirmed Tuesday that they have reopened an investigation into whether an Alabama-based coal company financed a paramilitary group during the South American nation's bloody civil conflict.
The chief prosecutor's office said the investigation into the Colombian subsidiary of Drummond Co. Inc. is focusing on irregular payments allegedly made to a contractor, Jose Blanco, who was convicted in 2013 in the killing of two union leaders who worked at Drummond. He was sentenced to 38 years in prison.
Accusations have long swirled that Drummond financed an umbrella paramilitary group, but U.S. courts have repeatedly ruled against the families of the Colombian victims.
. . .
Drummond has been operating in Colombia for several decades and is one of the nation's biggest coal exporters. In repeated lawsuits, human rights activists and victim relatives have alleged that Drummond hired militias to silence union activists and suspected leftists.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Colombia-opens-probe-into-US-coal-company-for-13348939.php
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