Venezuela 'seizes' British ranch

BBC ^ | Wednesday, 23 March, 2005, 14:51 GMT | staff

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Venezuela 'seizes' British ranch

Chavez has promised a 'war' over large estates

Venezuela has declared a huge British-owned cattle ranch to be state property and handed out permits for local farmers to take over the land.

The agriculture minister held a ceremony at El Charcote ranch, saying it was officially under state control.

The state governor said 140 permits had been handed out so poor families could start work on the 32,000-acre estate.

Agroflora, the local subsidiary of British owner Vestey Group, said it would appeal against the seizure.

The firm's employees are still working on the land.

The group has operated the ranch, in central Cojedes state, for decades.

But officials said as property documents did not prove the land belonged to the group, it therefore belonged to the state.

No compensation

The government is taking action against what it calls latifundios, or large rural estates, which it says are lying idle.

Vestey denies the land is idle, and says it has complied fully with Venezuelan law.

The firm has been given two months to appeal.

It says it has documents proving the ownership of the land back to 1830.

The company also says the farm, which employs 300 workers, provides meat solely for the Venezuelan market.

'War to the death'

There is no compensation on offer for lands which are deemed to belong to the state.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says many large farms were illegally acquired.

If ownership cannot be proved by documents dating back to 1830, the land is liable to be seized.

Mr Chavez has vowed to push ahead with a "war to the death against large landed estates, regardless of who the alleged landholders are".

The National Lands Institute has taken steps towards seizing 1.48m acres already this year, it says.

[A Ruckus of Dogs]

Venezuela is our #2 source of crude and I believe we need to take this tin horn dictator out for the sake of our national security.

We're not going to be taking out any more oily dictators for a while. If we're concerned about national security, let's get serious about reducing our oil consumption.

[JesseHousman]

Watch his hands carefully.

He's a socialist weenie!

[livius]

Everyone is equal--equally destitute.

Not quite everyone. Castro's fortune, for example, is estimated at around 500 million euros (according to a report I read in the European press a few days ago).

[JesseHousman]

...let's get serious about reducing our oil consumption...

You mean instead of drilling and pumping the vast supplies that are available to us within our own borders?

if we are, indeed, concerned about national security let's secure our borders and kick out all illegals.

[HighFlier]

Amen

[saveliberty]

Not quite everyone. Castro's fortune, for example, is estimated at around 500 million euros (according to a report I read in the European press a few days ago).

LOL! Castro was outraged and called this a lie. It must be far more than that!

[RJL]

Jimmy, the greatest president of the 20th century by far, says it was a legitimate election and that Chavez is a great man.

Yeah, IIRC this was the "legitimate election" where over 500 voting stations had exactly the same number of votes for the candidates.

[Travis McGee]

If ownership cannot be proved by documents dating back to 1830, the land is liable to be seized.

Our own Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican American War, dates only to 1848. If 1830 is ever going to be our standard for determining land ownership, we will have to turn over much of the Southwest to Spain, Mexico, or to the heirs of the "dispossessed" former land owners.

Needless to say, this could get a little messy...

So-called "land reform" in New Mexico, after that state government is taken over by radicals, is the subject of my next novel.

[Travis McGee]

Mr. Chavez, Does the name "Falkland Islands" ring a bell?

What, you think Tony Blair is going to drop British paratroopers on this former British-owned ranch in the middle of Venezuela? Really? Then what?

[saveliberty]

...let's get serious about reducing our oil consumption...

LOL! Yes, let's talk about conservation -- it doesn't cover the growth of energy consumption. It helps, but only by a drop in the bucket.

No, we would also need to explore alternate sources of energy. If we can't drill for oil in our own country and we can't build more refineries, perhaps we should use the Kyoto friendly alternate energy source. That's nukes, friends. Have a happy day! :D

[Travis McGee]

See #29.

[turnrightnow]

It goes without saying that dictators are not included in the "everyone".

[dfwgator]

Chavez's lawyer

"Land .. land ... land - see snatch."

[international american]

Carter is a psychopath

[international american]

Thanks for the info.

[international american]

You have a point there.....what would you do, Matt??

[Sax]

Wow, that's reading quite a bit into my post:

"Perhaps they should have talked to the Argentinians about the prospect of claiming British land for their own?"

You don't really expect the Brits to just roll over on this one do you? They have many options available to them.

[nikos1121]

"Yeah, IIRC this was the "legitimate election" where over 500 voting stations had exactly the same number of votes for the candidates."

Yes, but Jimmy Carter said it was a legitimate election and he's the greatest president of the 20th Century and an honest man who always looks out for America's interests first and he says Chavez is a great and honest man too. That's all I need to understand this whole scenario and what we can expect for the future.

[saveliberty]

LOL! Which is a grand improvement over number 42, the sociopath!

[saveliberty]

Oooo! You have ESPN or something :D

Check out this post
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1368940/posts