"Ecuador: Environmental defenders sentenced to pay 151,000 dollars to palm grower", 13 september 2021

...Four Afro-descendant farmers, defenders of the environment, will have to pay 151,000 dollars to the company Energy Palma, which exploits African palm in the province of Esmeraldas...

...[T]he peasants were accused of causing losses in the palm harvest...

This commune rejected the presence of the company, claiming that they illegally invaded 251 hectares of their collective territory. They also rejected the contamination of water and the deforestation of forests in the Chocó Andino region by the company, as a result of the exploitation of African palm.

The peasants assured that the protest was peaceful and did not cause any damage to the plantation...

The company initially sued seven peasants, including community leaders, who were criminally charged. It also demanded 320,000 dollars in compensation...

Acción Ecológica describes this sanction as intimidating, so that the villagers will not demonstrate again, nor reclaim their territory...

Energy Palma S.A. is part of the Corporación La Favorita, a conglomerate of companies with investments in food, supermarkets, real estate, among others...