The nonprofit EarthRights International is suing Chiquita Brands International on behalf of more than 200 Colombians, alleging they experienced violence at the hands of paramilitary agents funded by the banana company.

The complaint filed in the District of New Jersey alleges Chiquita engaged in a "campaign of terror" to maintain control of a Colombian banana-growing region from at least 1992 to 2004.

"In order to produce bananas in an environment free from labor opposition and social disturbances, Chiquita funded, armed, and otherwise supported these paramilitary groups," the complaint said.

The lawsuit revives an earlier suit filed by EarthRights in 2007. That case was a proposed class action filed in the Southern District of Florida. Last September, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach denied class status and dismissed a handful of individual plaintiffs' cases.

The new claims by EarthRights are brought by people who would have been members of the class action dismissed in Florida.

The plaintiffs are family members of trade unionists, banana workers, political organizers, social activists and others allegedly threatened, tortured and killed by paramilitary organizations, according to the complaint.

Chiquita had no comment by deadline.

The giant banana producer has faced a number of lawsuits related to its activities in Colombia. In 2007, it confessed to financing a designated global terrorist group in a U.S. criminal case and agreed to pay a $25 million fine.

In 2018, Chiquita settled lawsuits brought by the families of Americans killed in Colombia by armed groups that Chiquita admittedly paid. Terms of the settlement were confidential, but the families were seeking tens of millions of dollars.

EarthRights argues that Chiquita funded, armed and otherwise supported paramilitaries in Colombia to quell labor opposition that could stifle banana production. The deaths of plaintiffs' relatives, it says, were "a direct, foreseeable, and intended result" of that support.

"We are not backing away from accountability for Chiquita," said Marco Simons, general counsel for EarthRights. "In its desire to maximize profits, the company chose to do business in a conflict zone and then financed death squads as part of a strategy to protect those operations, contributing to the murder, rape, and torture of thousands of Colombians."

Chiquita's counsel has not yet been made public. In previous suits, Blank Rome has represented the company.

Two Brazilian companies purchased Chiquita in 2015 and moved its U.S. headquarters under the name Chiquita Brands LLC from Cincinnati to Fort Lauderdale.

Read more:

3 US Execs Indicted in Chiquita Terrorist Funding Probe in Colombia

Families Settle With Chiquita Over Deaths of Americans in Colombia