Over a quarter century in the Ecuadorian Amazon, oil giant Texaco (now Chevron) perpetrated an ecological disaster : It dumped 3.2 million gallons of toxic waste, spilled 17 million gallons of crude oil and flared nearly 50 million cubic feet of methane gas. The company also collaborated with U.S. evangelical missionaries to forcibly displace Indigenous peoples from their oil-rich lands. The victims have received no compensation .

Now, three arbitrators have ordered that compensation be paid—by the Ecuadorian government to Chevron. The total: $220 million, according to legal documents made public this week.

The ruling marks the latest twist in a decades-long legal saga that has stretched across continents and consumed millions of dollars in legal fees, all while the local population bear

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