Since February 20, 2025, when the US State Department designated eight international criminal organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), global companies have faced increasing litigation and enforcement risks across Latin America, where local supply chains and routine business operations often bring companies into direct and indirect contact with such groups.
On December 17, 2025, the State Department designated the Clan del Golfo (the “Gulf Clan”), Colombia’s largest and most entrenched armed group in the country, raising the stakes for global companies in the region. Against the backdrop of the Chiquita cases from the late 1990s and early 2000s, the new designation underscores the need for global companies to take a fresh look at risk mitigation and compliance strategies in Colombia and beyond.
Chiquita Revisited
The new FTO designation of the Gulf Clan has important parallels with the previous FTO designation of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) in 2001. Between 1997 and 2004, Chiquita Brands’ supply chain operations in Colombia intersected with areas under AUC control and, in order to operate safely in the country, Chiquita provided payments to the paramilitary group. Those payments resulted in years of protracted litigation, multi-million dollar penalties, and criminal exposure for executives.
In 2007, Chiquita Brands pleaded guilty in US court to making payments to a designated foreign terrorist organization and agreed to pay a $25 million criminal fine. The exposure later widened into multiple civil lawsuits, culminating in a June 2024 verdict finding Chiquita liable for wrongful deaths linked to AUC killings and awarding $38.3 million to victims’ relatives after 17 years of litigation. Most recently, in July 2025, a Colombian court sentenced seven former Chiquita executives to more than 11 years in prison and imposed a $3.4 million fine in connection with the conduct.
What’s Different Now
Over the past year, the Trump Administration has scrutinized the Colombian government for its association with criminal groups, focusing particular attention on Colombia’s “Total Peace” posture, under which the Colombian government has pursued engagement and negotiation with certain armed groups as opposed to using military force and investigating and prosecuting criminal conduct. These groups include designated FTOs.
The Gulf Clan designation presents new risks. Colombia is a critical foreign market and supply-chain node, and many companies may directly or indirectly make payments to the Gulf Clan through ordinary business operations, including engagement with third party suppliers and service providers that provide security, transportation, and other means of support. Colombia’s engagement with the Gulf Clan does not change how it is treated under US law.
Under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), companies that engage with an FTO may face criminal liability for routine business interactions, which can be construed broadly as providing “material support.” They face significant civil liability under the ATA, which permits US nationals injured by an act of international terrorism to sue those alleged to have aided and abetted or conspired with an FTO in carrying out the attack. ATA lawsuits are increasingly common, and such litigation can result in treble damages and attorneys’ fees. Moreover, dealings with an FTO can also expose companies to criminal enforcement for violating US sanctions laws.
Finally, it is important to keep in mind that even a limited question about potential contact with an FTO-designated actor can rapidly expand as regulators and financial institutions trace concerns across payments, intermediaries, and books-and-records. Once that review begins, those same control gaps can trigger parallel scrutiny under anti-money laundering and relevant sanctions laws.
Risk Mitigation Strategies to Consider
The new designation underscores the need for global companies to take a fresh look at risk mitigation and compliance strategies in Latin America. In particular, drawing on DOJ’s Guidelines for the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, it is an important moment for companies to revisit existing internal controls. Key considerations include:
- Refreshing internal risk mapping. Update risk assessments to reflect the post-designation reality by pinpointing where the business operations may intersect with designated FTOs, such as manufacturing, extractives, and energy sectors. Identify routine dependencies across transport routes, labor demands, local licensing, and other community arrangements and pinpoint potential US exposure.
- Enhancing due diligence and monitoring. Consider controls over indirect operators and third parties and potentially recalibrating current onboarding procedures, auditing requirements, and subcontractor disclosures. Companies may also want to implement periodic re-screening and tighten governance around payment vectors, such as recipients of fees, support services, and other forms of contributions or sponsorship.
- Planning for “pressure” moments. It may also be prudent to institutionalize an escalation plan for conflict zones operation. This can often include establishing a playbook for adapting operations and pivoting to practical alternatives, based on updated risk assessments informed by new US enforcement priorities.
