While Democrats and Republicans alike beat the drum for a relaxation of the embargo against Cuba’s totalitarian regime, they conveniently forget the reasons why the embargo was put in place: The expropriation of privately owned properties and assets of American citizens and companies. Without a single indication that the regime is willing to settle this illegal seizure, let alone allow even a shred of liberty to Cuban citizens, the Lugars, Flakes, and Delahunts of our congress want to wipe the slate clean and start off brand new with the same old regime. Fortunately, reality is not beholden to the fantastical machinations of these people and every once in a while, it delivers a little dose of actuality at the appropriate time.
You guys want to deal with a despotic, tyrannical, communist regime? Well here is what you get when you sell your soul to the devil.
Chavez orders nationalization of Cargill
(CNN) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday he had ordered the nationalization of at least some of the operations of the U.S.-based food giant Cargill and threatened to do the same with the Caracas-based food maker Polar.
“Begin the expropriation process with Cargill,” he said in a nationally televised speech in which he accused the company of growing specialized forms of rice in an attempt to evade price controls.
The leftist president called the company’s practices “a flagrant violation of everything that we have been doing.”
I bet you Cargill is feeling really good about having one of their plants stolen to help the proletariat.
Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
For the umpteenth time, anybody who “got fooled” by Chavez deserves the consequences. The guy was never subtle or hard to peg, ever. Of course, some people really are fools, so I suppose they can’t help it, but rather more people are simply opportunists or lousy human beings.
Asombra, I’m not defending Cargill, but they have been in Venezuela since 1986–before Chavez.
I remember seeing an article that talked about companies like Staples (don’t quote me) that Cuba owes money to. Those companies bought out defunct companies that used to have businesses in Cuba. Do you guys have the article to this by any chance?