Deal #3107

There is a huge controversy around this land deal. Cargill made use of a legal artifact to circumvent Colombian legislation and hence being able to accumulate adjacent land plots that were previously allocated to landless peasants with the clear intention to reduce poverty. According to Colombian legislation, no company or person can own more than an UAF, a land extension limit which is location-dependent. Cargill created a fictional company for every plot that wanted to acquire and afterward liquidated those companies; not before having long-term renting agreements with their own subsidiaries. Although a national debate on this issue was discussed, no legal processes started against the company. Nevertheless, several actors in the country agreed on the unethical move done by Cargill. Although Oxfam in a report special on this topic argued that it seemed that no violence was involved on this land deal, the portal "Rutas del Conflicto" argues that some of the land holdings were bought to the initial owners by paramilitary leaders, hence being possibly related to drug trafficking, extortion or money laundering. Additionally, it is remarkable the increase in the land prices, which were lastly sold for more than 30 times the initial price in some cases. The locations described in this portal follow the Oxfam report "Divide y Comprarás" and it add other land holdings that have monoculture and plantation complexes adjacent or very close to Cargill territories. Satellite imagery shows that several of the landholdings are being unused, although it is uncertain when exactly the pictures were taken.