United Fruit Company

Before Big Oil there was Big Fruit. During most of the 20th-century, the United Fruit Company was said to be the ill of most of Central America’s problems. The company was the largest employer in Central America, growing tropical fruit (think bananas and pineapples) on its plantations, shipping them to port on their railroads, and bringing them to America on their ships. The company interfered so intensely in the politics of Central American countries that the term ‘Banana Republic’ was coined. At one point, United Fruit even ran Guatemala’s postal service.

United Fruit was headquartered in Boston until a hostile takeover by New Orleanian Sam Zemurry in 1933. Zemurray brought the company to its height, playing the ‘communism’ card to keep the American government at his beck-and-call. Elected leaders from Guatemala to Panama that showed any tendency contrary to United Fruit’s interest were labeled leftists and quickly deposed. The entire corporation came down in 1975 when the Securities and Exchange Commission charged United Fruit with bribery. The company had allegedly given Honduran President Arellano $2.5 million for certain privileges. Since then, United Fruit was purchased by American Financial and became Chiquita Brands.