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    Chavez: Houses on Caribbean islands will be seized

    CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced Thursday that his government will expropriate homes on the Caribbean resort islands of Los Roques, saying the structures were built on plots bought in shadowy business deals.

    Chavez has nationalized hundreds of privately owned companies since taking office in 1999, but this is the first time he has targeted private homes for expropriation.

    Chavez offered no details regarding the planned seizures of private homes and quaint inns, known in Spanish as "posadas."

    "There are some houses that were illegally built. We're going to take them over," he said on television from the presidential palace.

    The president said the government would build state-run inns on Los Roques, which is an archipelago of tiny islands offering snorkeling and scuba diving along numerous coral reefs and deserted white-sand beaches.

    Lying 95 miles (150 kilometers) off the mainland, Los Roques is immensely popularly with foreign tourists seeking natural beauty and tranquility.

    The archipelago is a paradise for nature lovers. More than 280 fish species, including rainbow-colored parrot fish and yellow striped angel fish, dance around divers in the crystalline waters. Brown boobies and scarlet ibises are among the dozens of bird species found on the islands.

    Chavez's government has nationalized hundreds of businesses including cement makers, retail stores and steel mills as part of his drive to establish a socialist economic model in Venezuela. Authorities have also seized large swaths of agricultural land deemed idle by officials, turning parcels over to poor peasants.

    Chavez spoke before meeting with Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin at the presidential palace. They discussed military cooperation and bilateral projects, including the creation of a $4 billion joint development bank that would be used to finance construction of housing and a natural gas pipeline in Venezuela.

    ___

    Christopher Toothaker on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ctoothaker

     

    3,265 comments

    • YakimaJack  •  7 mths ago
      if the people want him stop then let then rise up and say it..
      • Jeremiah 7 mths ago
        They have been. But you don't hear about it because Chavez seized control of all media outlets in the country. No foreign media is allowed in the country.
      • enternewid 7 mths ago
        Hard to do when you have no legal guns. Just like they are trying to do here!
      • Alfonso 7 mths ago
        Why would they rise up? You think they want to be executed? THIS is the reality of socialism in its advanced stages NOT sharing the wealth and helping the poor. Sharing the wealth, helping the poor and taking people's guns for the sake of protecting the people are the "bait". Once the dictator has everything in place, then the executions start like what happened in Russia in the Ukraine, China, Cuba and North Korea. They make socialism sound great in the school system until everything is in place and then the axe comes down. Socialism is a lie and always has been. It's final conlusion is always "Dicatatorship". They just never tell you the end result in the brainwashing stage. You never find out until the axe comes down.
    • Dennis  •  7 mths ago
      Think it can't happen here? Check out the "Wildlands Project" under Agenda 21.
      • ronald 7 mths ago
        It is happening here.It's distribute the wealth crowd.Their motto is"Don't earn,take it.(by force )
    • CowboyUp  •  7 mths ago
      I'd burn the whole place right to the ground before I gave it to him!!!!
      • lazarus 7 mths ago
        Difficult to burn an "archipelago." I would prefer they declare independence, seek recognition by the United Nations, and petition the United States for protection under terms of the Monroe Doctrine.
      • James Mangialetti 7 mths ago
        We supply the weapons and they can fight for their Independence like in 1776
      • mnmcain 7 mths ago
        burning down the house would just save chavez some money as they want to build hotels, ie timeshares.
    • GyanniBoy  •  7 mths ago
      My ex-wife seized my house without firing a shot!
      • David 7 mths ago
        Where's the equity in that assuming there was any (home) equity???
      • Dave 7 mths ago
        Lol.... I know that story.
      • Old Geezer 7 mths ago
        Now thats funny!
    • Hiding in plain sight  •  7 mths ago
      Chavez is a dictator. Hope he rots in Hell.
      • Whispering Eye 7 mths ago
        From what it sounds like...he's rotting here...1st! I guess hell could'nt wait to get started on him!
      • joe101 7 mths ago
        he will, but the devil isnt going to take his favorite underling anytime soon, he is so very useful.
      • IA55 7 mths ago
        Tazan, You sound exactly like Obama. Huh? Could Obama be posting on here with an alias?
    • jazbo2020  •  7 mths ago
      The novel concept of property rights is the beginning of building wealth. To participate, one has to save his money and buy something of value. This is why the US citizenry generally has wealth or access to wealth. Chavez -- and those who think like him -- keep their people poor by not allowing access to wealth. Those poor who want governments to confiscate from property owners will not see any of the wealth. They will be forced to maintain the stolen properties for a piece of bread and a hut.
    • Jack  •  7 mths ago
      I'm keeping my guns.
    • deanc  •  7 mths ago
      The U.S. does this kind of seizing dictation too. How do you think they got central park?
    • Ben  •  7 mths ago
      Wow. Like who didn't see that one coming?
    • pedestrianobserver  •  7 mths ago
      In a tanked economy the middle class has to deal with foreclosure while in Venezuela the rich has to face expropriations, now that's certainly an unwelcome equalizer.......
    • cajungirl  •  7 mths ago
      Chavez should be called Hiel Hitler Chavez... he is doomed and his country will riot and dye trying to get out from under the crazed rule of a dictator like chavez...... he is dictator like cuban leader and his days are numbered....... time is coming to get rid of him just like Hussien, and others......... time is near.......
    • Anthony  •  7 mths ago
      "We're going to take them over," he said on television from the presidential palace. What a communist "Creep".
    • US Veteran  •  7 mths ago
      Funny how Socialism works when it forcibly takes over all the infrastructure built with capitalism.
    • daugy65  •  7 mths ago
      Who would ever want to invest thier money in a country at this point as long as Chavez is still living. I woud hate to be a business man inside of that country.
    • Cpl. Smitty. U.S.M.C.  •  7 mths ago
      Chavez needs a hole between his eyes.
      There I said it.
    • Citizen with Common Sense ...  •  7 mths ago
      What does his buddy Sean Penn say about this?
    • JJ  •  7 mths ago
      What a freaking crook...
    • Mitzi  •  7 mths ago
      Will Danny Glover and Sean Penn help evict the owners?
    • Wilbert  •  7 mths ago
      My hope is that Sean Penn, Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte have vacation homes there. Fulty
    • BillW  •  7 mths ago
      Chavez and his henchmen just wanted some free vacation homes.
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