CARACAS, Venezuela— Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez ordered the seizure of a Cargill, Inc. rice processing plant on March 4, reported the Associated Press.
Chávez ordered the plant’s expropriation because it allegedly was not distributing rice at government-imposed prices. The government accused Cargill of not printing the regulated price on its packages in accordance with local laws.
Chávez also threatened to nationalize Venezuela's largest food producer, Empresas Polar, amid rising tension between his government and privately owned food producers that authorities accuse of bypassing price controls aimed at stemming high inflation.
