Watchdog calls for US import ban as forced labor persists in Dominican sugarcane fields
The watchdog said 8,000 workers face underpayment, abusive housing and statelessness, and urged the United States to restore the ban.
- On Tuesday, the Corporate Accountability Lab released a report alleging forced labor persists on Dominican Republic sugarcane plantations owned by Central Romana Corporation, urging a ban on the company's sugar imports.
- Researchers spent three years investigating conditions for up to 8,000 laborers across more than 173,700 acres at Central Romana, finding elderly canecutters and stateless workers face systemic underpayment and cramped housing.
- Customs and Border Protection previously accused the firm of isolating workers and withholding wages, while the Department of Labor described plantation conditions as "inhumane" and "abusive" in a recent study.
- Central Romana dismissed the report as "riddled with inaccuracies and untruths," though the government previously banned the company's products in 2022 before reversing the decision last year under Trump.
- Florida-Based Fanjul Corp, which owns the plantation and maintains ties to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, faces calls from the nonprofit to prohibit sugar imports made with forced labor.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Santa Maria Times
Independent EspañolSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A human rights group determined Tuesday in a report that forced labor persists in huge sugar cane plantations throughout the Dominican Republic, which exports sugar and other products to...
Watchdog calls for U.S. import ban as forced labor persists in Dominican sugarcane fields
A report released Tuesday by a human rights group found that forced labor persists on massive sugarcane plantations across the Dominican Republic, which exports sugar and other products to the U.S. - its largest market.
Central Romana Corporation rejected the accusations contained in a new report by Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL) that denounces alleged abusive labor practices in its sugarcane fields in the Dominican Republic and maintains that the company operates under working conditions contrary to international standards. The company, the country's main sugar producer, called the document, titled Bitter Empire, "riddled with inaccuracies and falsehoods,"…
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