A south Florida jury has found Chiquita Brands International liable for $38.3 million in damages related to the deaths of eight civilians because the banana company funded a U.S.-designated terrorist group during Colombia’s civil war.

A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida handed down the verdict June 10, finding that Chiquita was liable for the deaths due to its funding of the now-disbanded Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) between 1997 and 2004. During the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. Justice Department described the AUC as a violent, right-wing paramilitary group that engaged in terrorist activities.

Chiquita made more than 100 payments totaling $1.7 million to the AUC as “protection money” through its Colombian subsidiary, Banadex, according to the Justice Department. The company was engaged in profitable banana-producing operations in Colombia when the payments were made.