LONDON (AP) — In the Putumayo region of the Colombian Amazon, Segundo Meneses' daily routine took him to the Chufiya river, its banks verdant and waters alive with catfish and piranha. On one morning seven years ago, he noticed a dark film lapping the shore. Where the river turned a bend, it turned to black. It was an oil slick that he says went on to sicken his young family and poison their cows and pigs.

The British law firm Leigh Day is now suing Amerisur, the oil company operating in the region, on behalf of 171 Putumayo farmers, including Meneses. That spill was not the only complication with this particular oil operation. Nearby Siona Indigenous people say they reject the oil pumping and will fight it. This region is also awash in coca production and former rebel groups dispute drug territory, sometimes disrupting the flow of oil. Then there are reports by United Nations rapporteurs and an interfaith non-profit group that say the oil company, Amerisur Resources PLC, may have worked with rebels to pressure the Siona and local farmers to cease their opposition in order to keep oil flowing.

Yet none of this seemed to deter an $900 million oil and gas firm based in Chile named GeoPark Ltd. from buying Amerisur two years ago. GeoPark successfully lined up banks to help it obtain the Putumayo oilfields, indicating that even with climate changes hitting wide areas of the globe, backing for the activities that cause it is still available. Demand for crude oil continues to rise, not fall, underscoring the lure for oil companies and banks to keep operating as they have for decades.

"If banks help finance a company like GeoPark, it seems there is nothing they will refuse to touch," said Maaike Beenes, banks and climate lead at the non-profit BankTrack, an environmental advocacy group based in the Netherlands. This deal, she said, raises numerous red flags because of Amerisur's legacy, "from doing business in a conflict zone to fossil fuel expansion in sensitive ecosystems of the Amazon, to a history of violations of Indigenous peoples' rights."

The way GeoPark bought all of British-based Amerisur in January 2020, absorbing the company and keeping its brand, is a window into how some banks support fossil fuel projects even when they appear to go against their own policies.

Citibank and Itaú Unibanco offered GeoPark a bridge loan. The company then looked to banks for help issuing $350 million worth of bonds to pay for the purchase, Bloomberg data and public statements show. Brazilian Itaú Unibanco and Citibank served as "bookrunners" on the bonds, and the Bank of New York Mellon agreed to facilitate payments on them. Bookrunners advertise bonds, coordinate orders and generally use their reputation to lend confidence on bond offers.

The deal enabled GeoPark to obtain Amerisur's main asset: 11 oilfields strung across the highly biodiverse Putumayo basin. They now comprise almost a third of GeoPark's hydrocarbon fields, the rest dotted across Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru.

The next year, in 2021, U.S. and European financial institutions helped GeoPark restructure its debt, making more money available to the company. Bank of America, Credit Suisse and JPMorgan advised on issuing another $150 million in bonds, GeoPark press releases show.

Even being the client of such important banks lent GeoPark credibility, said former bond trader Jo Richardson of the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute, who analyzed data and documents from the deal.

A SULLIED RIVER

In a filing with the British High Court, Segundo Meneses called the Chufiya river "an important source of food for my family and the whole community."

But the river was changed by events that day. According to court documents, an armed group attacked five Amerisur oil tanker trucks and forced the drivers to empty their loads of crude oil into a wetland, where it flowed into the Agua Negra tributary, and from there into the Chufiya and beyond.

For the Colombian oil industry, rebel attacks on oil infrastructure have been a plague for decades. But the farmers argue this attack was foreseeable, given ongoing conflict in the area. For a long time afterwards, the cassava and plantain farmers say, their water was contaminated.

Fishing became impossible, said Meneses, the edible fish gone.

"I caught a 15-kilo fish (33 lbs.) and it tasted like oil, and I couldn't eat it," he said in an affidavit.

In the dry season, the family had no choice but to drink from and wash in the river, which gave them diarrhea, rashes and stomach aches, he said.

"For us water is life," Meneses continued. "Maybe I will die tomorrow but my children will still live here and I do not want them to live in an area with such polluted water."

GeoPark's spokesperson said the company has caused no contamination, maintains the highest standards to protect the environment, and is committed to compensation for any negative impacts. Amerisur, now Amerisur Resources Ltd, cleaned up the spilled oil, the spokesperson said, and would defend itself in the courts. Regarding liability for past acts, she said, they are "questions of law and fact on a case-by-case basis."

OIL IN A CONFLICT ZONE

For critics, the Amerisur assets should never have found a buyer, or financing. There were numerous red flags for banks considering helping with this oil deal, they say. Months before the first bond issuance, the Siona of the Buenavista reservation told GeoPark in a public statement they would not allow oil production or "extractive operations in our territory." They said Amerisur had already tried to take their natural resources through "illegal and rigged action." The tribe said it would protect its territory from "grave risks due to toxic wastes," and "impacts on our spiritual practices."

Moira Birss, director for climate and finance at the non-profit advocacy group Amazon Watch said GeoPark is "running enormous political, legal, reputational, climate, and social risks."

Colombia's Constitutional Court recognizes the Siona as at risk of extermination. Also before the bond deal, a 2019 ruling found Amerisur left explosives on Siona land during seismic studies. The company was ordered to cease this activity. In a third, ongoing case, the Buenavista Siona, who say their lands are overlapped by two GeoPark oilfields, are seeking 52,000 hectares (128,000 acres) of disputed territory there to be added to their reservation.

GeoPark denied in an email it is working in the Siona reservation or the additional land sought by them. Relationships with Indigenous people are based on "dialogue, respect and building trust," the company said. The company says in 2021 it requested Colombia to cancel the concession to the oilfield the Siona say overlaps their land, and is waiting for this to happen.

PARAMILITARIES IN THE AREA

The Putumayo region is also a hotbed of coca cultivation and cocaine trafficking. Splinter groups of former FARC rebels fight each other for control of the trade. One faction, the Border Command, is listed with the U.S. Treasury Department as a terrorist organization. In December 2020, before the second bond deal, a respected Colombian human rights NGO's report made a strong claim. The Interfaith Justice and Peace Commission alleged the Border Command was collaborating with Amerisur to protect its oil operations.

Displaced farmers had told the commission they were ordered by the rebels not to oppose Amerisur's exploration, one rebel reportedly saying, "We have negotiated with the company and will assure the operation."

Five United Nations special rapporteurs for human rights also wrote to the chief of the U.N. Development Programme, Achim Steiner, warning: "Alleged links exist between the company (Amerisur) and the paramilitaries present in the area, which have been denounced by the Siona Peoples before the Constitutional Court."

The U.N. rapporteurs wrote: "Economic actors have allied with irregular armed actors to generate, within the Indigenous communities, acts of violence that ... displace the Indigenous people from their ancestral territories, thus clearing the way for ... these projects."

Colombian investigative news outlet Cuestión Pública, working with the news organization Mongabay, said two independent sources said paramilitaries had forced a farming community to attend meetings where they were ordered not to obstruct Amerisur and should accept any offers it makes. Two other independent sources confirmed an alliance between Amerisur and the rebel group, their report said.

And the Ombudsman's Office of Colombia, the country's human rights agency, published a risk alert on its website saying community complaints have been received about pressure exerted by "illegal armed actors" to allow oil extraction. Amerisur was not named in that alert. But the report did note Amerisur is the one of the two largest operators in the area of Putumayo.

GeoPark rejected any allegation of collaboration with Border Command as "100% false."

"GeoPark has never had any relationship with illegal armed groups and demands the same of its employees and the entire supply chain," a spokesperson said.

BANK SUPPORT

The backing by the banks buoyed GeoPark. In April 2021, James F. Park, then CEO, said in a press release the deal "demonstrates the support and credibility we have earned in international capital markets." This puts the company in a "stronger, more flexible, less risky and less costly position," he said.

Citibank, Itaú Unibanco, and the Bank of New York Mellon all said environmental issues were of great importance to them. BNY Mellon said it provided no direct financing or loans. Citibank and Itaú also emphasized they seriously consider social risks and conduct due diligence. Citi said it is strengthening these policies. JPMorgan said it reviews all sensitive deals with clients.

Bank of America and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Meanwhile, in the rainforest, oil pumping continues. Meneses and his fellow farmers hope for a judgement before Christmas; British courts have ordered GeoPark to set aside 3.2 million pounds (U.S. $3.8 million) to pay if the farmers win.

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP's climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

President Joe Biden on Monday told U.S. residents the nation’s financial systems are sound, following the swift and stunning collapse of two banks that prompted fears of a broader upheaval.

"American can have confidence that the banking system is safe," he said from the Roosevelt Room before a trip to the West Coast. "Your deposits will be there when you need them."

U.S. regulators closed the Silicon Valley Bank on Friday after it experienced a traditional bank run, where depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. It is the second largest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual.

In a sign of how fast the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed.

The president, speaking from the Roosevelt Room shortly before U.S. markets opened, said he’d seek to hold those responsible and pressed for better oversight and regulation of larger banks. And he promised no losses would be borne by taxpayers.

This is a breaking news update. Read the original story below.

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Governments in the U.S. and Britain are taking extraordinary steps to prevent a potential banking crisis after the failure of California-based Silicon Valley Bank prompted fears of a broader upheaval.

U.S. regulators worked through the weekend to find a buyer for the bank, which had more than $200 billion in assets and catered to tech startups, venture capital firms, and well-paid technology workers.

While those efforts appeared to have failed, officials assured all of the bank’s customers that they would be able to access their money on Monday.

The assurances came as part of an expansive emergency lending program intended to prevent a wave of bank runs that would threaten the stability of the banking system and the economy as a whole.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England and U.K. Treasury said early Monday that they had facilitated the sale of the bank’s London-based subsidiary to HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, ensuring the security of 6.7 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) of deposits.

Regulators in the U.S. rushed to close Silicon Valley Bank on Friday when it experienced a traditional bank run, where depositors rushed to withdraw their funds all at once. It is the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 failure of Washington Mutual.

In a sign of how fast the financial bleeding was occurring, regulators announced that New York-based Signature Bank had also failed and was being seized on Sunday.

At more than $110 billion in assets, Signature Bank is the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history. Another beleaguered bank, First Republic Bank, announced Sunday that it had bolstered its financial health by gaining access to funding from the Fed and JPMorgan Chase.

The developments left markets jittery as trading began Monday. The Asian and European markets fell but not dramatically, and U.S. futures were down.

In an effort to shore up confidence in the banking system, the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Sunday that all Silicon Valley Bank clients would be protected and able to access their money.

“This step will ensure that the U.S. banking system continues to perform its vital roles of protecting deposits and providing access to credit to households and businesses in a manner that promotes strong and sustainable economic growth,” the agencies said in a joint statement.

Under the plan, depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, including those whose holdings exceed the $250,000 insurance limit, will be able to access their money on Monday.

The U.K. also moved quickly, working throughout the weekend to arrange the sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK Ltd., the California bank’s British arm, for the nominal sum of one pound.

While the bank is small, with less than 0.2% of U.K. bank deposits according to central bank statistics, it had a large role in financing technology and biotech startups that the British government is counting on to fuel economic growth.

Jeremy Hunt, the U.K. government’s Treasury chief, said that some of the country’s leading tech companies could have been “wiped out."

“When you have very young companies, very promising companies, they’re also fragile,” Hunt told reporters, explaining the why authorities moved so quickly. “They need to pay their staff and they were worried that as of 8 a.m. this morning, they might literally not be able to access their bank account.”

He stressed that there was never a “systemic risk” to the U.K.’s banking system.

In the U.S., officials characterized their lending program as akin to what central banks have done for decades: Lend freely to the banking system so that customers would be confident that they could access their accounts whenever needed.

That will allow banks that need to raise cash to pay depositors to borrow that money from the Fed, rather than having to sell Treasuries and other securities to raise it.

Silicon Valley Bank began its slide into insolvency when it was forced to dump some of its Treasuries at at a loss to fund its customers’ withdrawals. Under the Fed’s new program, banks can post those securities as collateral and borrow from the emergency facility.

The Treasury has set aside $25 billion to offset any losses incurred. Fed officials said, however, that they do not expect to have to use any of that money, given that the securities posted as collateral have a very low risk of default.

Though Sunday’s steps marked the most extensive government intervention in the banking system since the 2008 financial crisis, the actions are relatively limited compared with what was done 15 years ago. The two failed banks themselves have not been rescued, and taxpayer money has not been provided to them.

President Joe Biden said Sunday evening as he boarded Air Force One back to Washington that he would speak about the situation on Monday.

In a statement, Biden also said he was “firmly committed to holding those responsible for this mess fully accountable and to continuing our efforts to strengthen oversight and regulation of larger banks so that we are not in this position again.”

Some prominent Silicon Valley executives feared that if Washington didn’t rescue the failed bank, customers would make runs on other financial institutions in the coming days. Stock prices plunged over the last few days at other banks that cater to technology companies, including First Republic and PacWest Bank.

Among the bank’s customers are a range of companies from California’s wine industry, where many wineries rely on Silicon Valley Bank for loans, and technology startups devoted to combating climate change.

Tiffany Dufu, founder and CEO of The Cru, a New York-based career coaching platform and community for women, posted a video Sunday on LinkedIn from an airport bathroom, saying the bank crisis was testing her resiliency.

Given that her money was tied up at Silicon Valley Bank, she had to pay her employees out of her personal bank account. With two teenagers to support who will be heading to college, she said she was relieved to hear that the government’s intent is to make depositors whole.

“Small businesses and early-stage startups don’t have a lot of access to leverage in a situation like this, and we’re often in a very vulnerable position, particularly when we have to fight so hard to get the wires into your bank account to begin with, particularly for me, as a Black female founder,” Dufu said. ___ Rugaber and Megerian reported from Washington. Sweet and Bussewitz reported from New York. Associated Press Writers Hope Yen in Washington, Jennifer McDermott in Providence, Rhode Island, and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI —

DORA cups are coming to downtown Cincinnati before Opening Day and that means you can take your favorite beverage to-go and hop from bar to bar along The Banks without a problem.

City officials said there's still a lot being finalized, but the excitement along Freedom Way is building.

"I think it's a good idea because everyone's been so cooped up in their houses for this long and honestly, people want to get out and have fun," Rob Weidig said.

Weidig is excited because you can soon grab a drink and take a stroll or dance if you'd like, outside at The Banks.

"I think it would be a first glimpse of normalcy for everyone and I think that's what we need. We need hope and we need progress moving into the future," Dan Collins said.

City council approved a "Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area" and pedestrian walkway to help restaurants and bars hurt by the pandemic.

People can grab a boozy beverage in a sanctioned DORA cup and share in the Cincy love of spring.

Officials said the hours will run from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m., once the DORA is up and going.

Cold beer, libations and bourbon will be more mobile than ever before in time for Reds Opening Day.

"I think it's exciting. I think more people will actually come with it being outside," Liz Brohas said.

Jackie Reau, with Game Day Communications, said DORA on The Banks will start with a toast on March 25 and an announcement of guidelines.

She said there are plans to install signage, mapping and sidewalk tattoos throughout the district's 85 acres and there will be extra law enforcement.

The DORA stretches from Paul Brown Stadium to Heritage Bank Center, from Second Street to Mehring Way.

"In the summer, they did that thing on like Newport on the Levee and it was really awesome to be outside and, like, just feel, like, more normal," Gretchen Hinkel said.

Reau said officials are also working on guidelines to prevent groups from growing too large, and she said the district will follow mandates including social distancing.

People we talked with are ready to take their cups outside.

"I think it's really exciting. I mean, during Bengals games, they kind of do a little mini-version of that right here and there's such a good response. Everyone loves being outside, carrying their drink from place to place," Olivia Kennedy said.

Officials said you cannot bring your own beverage to the DORA.

People who venture outside of the DORA with their cups could be on the hook for an open container violation.

We also reached out to the mayor's office for more insight into the plans, guidelines and rules, but a spokeswoman did not return a call, text or email.