Venezuela seizes US rice producer

[Abelian Sea]

Venezuela seizes US rice producer (BBC News)

Last week President Chavez ordered troops to rice processing plants after accusing producers of sidestepping the law on controlled prices by producing a higher grade of rice.

Cargill, which operates one rice-processing plant in Venezuela, said the mill does not produce the plain rice that is under regulation.

"Prepare the decree, we are going to expropriate Cargill. We are not going to tolerate this," Mr Chavez said.

Venezuela's Chavez seizes U.S. food giant unit (Reuters)

President Hugo Chavez seized a unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to take over Venezuela's largest private company, renewing a nationalization drive as the OPEC nation's oil income plunges.

Chavez's clash with the food companies, demanding they produce cheaper rice, came less than three weeks after he won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection and marked his first nationalization in seven months.

 

[waltky]

Socialism proves to be a failure in Venezuela...

Venezuela's Problem Is That 'Socialism Has Been Faithfully Implemented' There
September 19, 2017 | During his speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, President Donald J. Trump condemned the authoritarian, socialist regime of Venezuela, emphasizing that the South American nation's problem "is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented."

Trump added that wherever socialism or communism is implemented, such as the former Soviet Union, Cuba, and Venezuela, it leads to political repression, executions, "anguish" and "failure." "We call for the full restoration of democracy and political freedoms in Venezuela," said President Trump. "The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented," he said. "From the Soviet Union to Cuba to Venezuela, wherever true socialism or communism has been adopted, it has delivered anguish and devastation and failure." "Those who preach the tenets of these discredited ideologies only contribute to the continued suffering of the people who live under these cruel systems," said the president.

Preceding those comments, Trump said of Venezuela: "We have also imposed tough, calibrated sanctions on the socialist Maduro regime in Venezuela, which has brought a once thriving nation to the brink of total collapse. "The socialist dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro has inflicted terrible pain and suffering on the good people of that country. This corrupt regime destroyed a prosperous nation by imposing a failed ideology that has produced poverty and misery everywhere it has been tried. To make matters worse, Maduro has defied his own people, stealing power from their elected representatives to preserve his disastrous rule.

Venezuela's socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro, left, and former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.​

"The Venezuelan people are starving and their country is collapsing. Their democratic institutions are being destroyed. This situation is completely unacceptable and we cannot stand by and watch. "As a responsible neighbor and friend, we and all others have a goal. That goal is to help them regain their freedom, recover their country, and restore their democracy. I would like to thank leaders in this room for condemning the regime and providing vital support to the Venezuelan people.

"The United States has taken important steps to hold the regime accountable. We are prepared to take further action if the government of Venezuela persists on its path to impose authoritarian rule on the Venezuelan people. "We are fortunate to have incredibly strong and healthy trade relationships with many of the Latin American countries gathered here today. Our economic bond forms a critical foundation for advancing peace and prosperity for all of our people and all of our neighbors. "I ask every country represented here today to be prepared to do more to address this very real crisis."

Trump: Venezuela's Problem Is That 'Socialism Has Been Faithfully Implemented' There

 

[waltky]

Canada sanctions Venezuelan officials...

Canada imposes sanctions on key Venezuelan officials
Sep 22, 2017 - 40 individuals, including President Nicolas Maduro, targeted

Canada will impose targeted sanctions against 40 Venezuelan senior officials, including President Nicolas Maduro, to punish them for "anti-democratic behaviour," Canada's foreign affairs department says. Canada's move, which followed a similar decision by the United States, came after months of protests against Maduro's government in which at least 125 people have been killed. Critics say he has plunged the nation into its worst-ever economic crisis and brought it to the brink of dictatorship. "Canada will not stand by silently as the government of Venezuela robs its people of their fundamental democratic rights," Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. The measures include freezing the assets of the officials and banning Canadians from having any dealings with them. The actions were "in response to the government of Venezuela's deepening descent into dictatorship," Canada said. There was no immediate reaction from Caracas.

Canada will impose targeted sanctions against 40 Venezuelan senior officials, including President Nicolas Maduro, to punish them for "anti-democratic behavior," Foreign Affairs said on Friday.​

Maduro has said he faces an armed insurrection designed to end socialism in Latin America and let a U.S.-backed business elite get its hands on the OPEC nation's crude reserves. The United States imposed sanctions on Maduro in late July and has also targeted around 30 other officials. The Canadian measures name Maduro, Vice-President Tareck El Aissami and 38 other people, including the ministers of defence and the interior as well as several Supreme Court judges. Canada is a member of the 12-nation Lima Group, which is trying to address the Venezuelan crisis. A government official said Freeland wanted to host a meeting of the group within the next 60 days.

A government supporter holds a placard during an anti-imperialist demonstration, in Caracas, Venezuela​

Cyndee Todgham Cherniak, a trade sanctions expert at Toronto law firm LexSage, said although limited in scope, the Canadian measures were symbolic. "When you join other countries ... it makes the message louder," she said by phone. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday he believed there was a chance for a political solution. "This is a situation that is obviously untenable. The violence ... needs to end and we are looking to be helpful," he told reporters at the United Nations.

Constitutional Assembly member Diosdado Cabello, centre, raises his arm during an anti-imperialist march in Caracas on Sept. 19. Canada is imposing sanctions against Cabello.​

Experts say individual measures have had little or no impact on Maduro's policies and that broader oil-sector and financial sanctions may be the only way to make the Venezuelan government feel economic pain. U.S. President Donald Trump last month signed an executive order that prohibits dealings in new debt from the Venezuelan government or its state oil company. Earlier this month, Spain said it wanted the European Union to adopt restrictive measures against members of the Venezuelan government.

Canada imposes sanctions on key Venezuelan officials

 

[AVISSSER]

Venezuela seizes US rice producer (BBC News)

Last week President Chavez ordered troops to rice processing plants after accusing producers of sidestepping the law on controlled prices by producing a higher grade of rice.

Cargill, which operates one rice-processing plant in Venezuela, said the mill does not produce the plain rice that is under regulation.

"Prepare the decree, we are going to expropriate Cargill. We are not going to tolerate this," Mr Chavez said.

Venezuela's Chavez seizes U.S. food giant unit (Reuters)

President Hugo Chavez seized a unit of American food giant Cargill on Wednesday and threatened to take over Venezuela's largest private company, renewing a nationalization drive as the OPEC nation's oil income plunges.

Chavez's clash with the food companies, demanding they produce cheaper rice, came less than three weeks after he won a referendum on allowing him to run for reelection and marked his first nationalization in seven months.

That's all well and good but Chavez has been dead for 4 years.