Over three decades of oil drilling in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Chevron is reported to have dumped more than 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater into the rainforest, leaving local people suffering a wave of cancers, miscarriages and birth defects. Now, with the support of an international campaign for justice, the communities affected by Chevron’s negligence are holding one of the world’s largest oil companies to account.
This week, the communities affected by Chevron’s contamination in Ecuador achieved another victory in their epic battle for justice when an Ontario appeals court ruled they have the right to pursue enforcement of a US$9.5 billion Ecuadorian court judgment against Chevron’s estimated $15 billion in assets in Canada, according to Amazon Watch.
Amazon Watch attended the press conference in Ecuador where Pablo Fajardo, lead lawyer for the communities along with other representatives, responded to the news.
“This order will allow us the opportunity to hold Chevron accountable for fleeing the scene of its environmental crimes in Ecuador after a valid judgment was entered against it,” said Fajardo.
Amazon Watch says this decision is a major blow against Chevron and offers the potential for the Ecuadorian plaintiffs to achieve total victory over Chevron as its assets in Canada well exceed the $9.5 billion owed. Furthermore, within the court’s decision was a jabbing comment aimed at Chevron’s bogus RICO action in the US: “For 20 years, Chevron has contested the legal proceedings of every court involved in this litigation – in the United States, Ecuador, and Canada. Chevron even sought, and briefly obtained, a global injunction against enforcement of the Ecuador judgment.”
“Even before the Ecuadorian judgment was released, Chevron…said: ‘We’re going to fight this until hell freezes over. And then we’ll fight it out on the ice.’ Chevron’s wish is granted.”
Justice James MacPherson, in the court’s decision.
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The True Story of Chevron’s Ecuador Disaster from Amazon Watch on Vimeo.
For more information, go to Chevrontoxico.com.
