The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-04-21
BY o. RODRIGUEZ


TN several countries of the Caribbean the United
l Fruit Co. exercises a dictatorship over prac-
tiealIy the entire life Of those countries. Be-
ing one Of the largest Yankee monopoly corpor-
ations operating in Latin America, the United
Fruit CO. functions as one Of the chief repre-
sentatiyes Of Yankee imperialism. And as such,
it not only owns and controls immense tracts
Of land, plantations, shipping railroads, mines,
etc. it not only robs these natural resources
and exploits nercilessly the workers and toiling
peasants for the aggrandizement Of Yankee i'm
perialisrn; it not only owns and controls the
puppet governments of many Of the Caribbean
countries; but il itself exercises the functions
Of government directly especially when it comes
to suppressing the struggles Of the workers and
toiling peasants that are employed by the Uni
TED Fruit co.
The enterprises Of the United Fruit Co. IN
the Caribbean, particularly the banana planta-
tons, are practically armed camps. The Uni
ted Fruit Co. maintains there numerous armed
bands that are systematically terrorizing the
workers and small poquiteros and, in times OF
strikes or other struggles Of the masses for the
Improvement Of their conditions, these armed
bands Of the Company undertake to crush these
struggles by the utmost violence and wholesale
murder, always with the support Of the armed
forces Of the puppet governments Of these coun-
tries IN doing so, the United Fruit Co. knows
that there are always close at hand Yankee
Warships and marines "Jo protect" its life and
property, when necessary.
One Of the most recent displays of the dc
5atorship Of the United Fruit Co. in some of the
Caribbean countries has been given to us in the
January struggles of the workers and small
poquiteros in the banana zone OF Honduras
That zone is almost completely dominated by
the United Fruit Co. The workers went on strike
against q POO wage cut. The small poquiteros
joined the struggle to fight against $50 cut
in the price of bananas that they are selling to
the United Fruit Go. The strike was Joined by
the longshOremen in leila backed up by all
transport workers Mr.. Truabuk general man
ager Of the United Fruit co. in Honduras, took
charge Of the situation and under his command
the government Of Collindres undertook to crush
the strike by declaring martial law, invading the
strike area with troops, at the same time ZAP
pealing" to the strikers to accept the wage cut
in the national interests of Honduras" The
troops that came to the banana zone on Janu-
ary from La Ceiba, most OF them recruited
from the unemployed, began to fraternize with
the strikers and upon the order of the United
Fruit Co. these troops were withdrawn from the
strike zone and more reliable" ones sent in-
stead.
But the United Fruit Co. did not confine it.
S144 " 4l4CIGly ordering COIuQQTGS TO crush CQ6
strike, not because Collindres was unwilling to
obey the commands Of the United Fruit Co. but
because he was not efficient" enough in crush
ing the strike which the troops from La Ceiba
were unwilling to attack and which had the &C.
tive support Of the poor non-working class pop
ulation Of the cities in the banana zone. Hence
the United Fruit 90. stepped forward to handle
the situation more directly. On January IS, the
armed bands Of the United Fruit Co. began to
carry through series Of arrests, picking out
those that appeared to be more militant, placing
these kidnapped workers on one Of its ships
the "Dry'-and sending them to Puerto Barrios
When these workers we're refused permission to
land, the United Fruit Co. brought them to the
Aviation Field at San Pedro Sula, placed them
on one Of its own airplanes and sent them out
to Salvador from where they have not yet been
heard Of. There is great danger that these
strikers, that were kidnapped by the United
Fruit Co. and deported to Salvador, may have
been murdered. This is how Yankee imperial
ism is exercising its dictatorship in the Carlo
bean countries.
At the present time the United Fruit Co. and
its servant the Collindres government, are max
ing the most desperate effort to wipe out the
revolutionary organizations from the banana
zone, especially the revolutionary unions and