Ecuador president to help residents suing Chevron oil

Reuters reports:

QUITO – Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa said on Tuesday he will help Amazon jungle dwellers gather evidence for their $6 billion lawsuit against Chevron Corp., which charges the U.S. oil company with polluting their communities.

“We will not allow any more preying on our environment and our people,” Correa said in a statement after meeting with plaintiffs’ representatives.

The statement added that the government will help the plaintiffs compile evidence to prove their allegations and said Correa plans to visit affected areas later this month.

The jungle residents, including the Cofan Indian tribe, accuse Chevron’s Texaco subsidiary of dumping 18 billion gallons of oil-laden water into the environment in Ecuador from 1972 to 1992. The nearly 30,000 jungle dwellers demand damages to help with clean-up costs.

Texaco merged with Chevron in 2001 and the company denies any wrongdoing.

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