Glorious socialist utopia of Venezuela illegally seizes GM factory

By Robert Laurie —— Bio and Archives April 21, 2017

Comments | Print This | Subscribe | Email Us

Uh oh. Michael Moore has a problem on his hands. The glorious utopia known as Venezuela - a country where socialism has wreaked such havoc that prisoners are literally eating each other - has illegally seized a General Motors factory. Will Moore run down there to fight for the workers, or will he stand up to support his favorite form of government? Only time will tell. For now, here's the report from Reuters:

General Motors (GM.N) said on Wednesday that Venezuelan authorities had illegally seized its plant in the industrial hub of Valencia and vowed to "take all legal actions" to defend its rights. The seizure comes amid a deepening economic crisis in leftist-led Venezuela that has already roiled many U.S. companies. "Yesterday, GMV's (General Motors Venezolana) plant was unexpectedly taken by the public authorities, preventing normal operations. In addition, other assets of the company, such as vehicles, have been illegally taken from its facilities," the company said in a statement. It said the seizure would cause irreparable damage to the company, its 2,678 workers, its 79 dealers and to its suppliers. Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for information.

The socialists were unresponsive? Ya don't say.

In all seriousness, this action is just the latest in a string of decisions that place the collapsed nation on a collision course with the rest of the world. GM may be the most recent international corporation to feel the sting of Venezuelan chaos, but it's hardly the first. This trend has been ongoing since before Hugo Chavez kicked the bucket. There are dozens of such cases at various stages of arbitration. Heck, in 2015, Ford took an $800 Million pre-tax write-down to cover it's loses from Venezuelan investment. The difference here, of course, is that you - the taxpayer - handed GM an eleven billion dollar bailout just a few years ago. If conservative bloggers could see it coming, shouldn't someone, somewhere within the bailout process, have been able to spot Venezuela's implosion as an impending issue? In the end, the fault lies squarely with the companies. If they were dumb enough to operate in a country run by a dictator thug like Chavez, tough nuggies. They rolled the dice and now they're getting their comeuppance as the nation collapses. There's a lesson here about producing in the United States, should anyone care to learn it.