Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has recently ordered the seizure of ports and fishing fleet that his government has expropriated. “We will recover the ports and airports throughout the republic, and oppose those who oppose,” so said the president who, less than two weeks ago, launched another crackdown on private business when he evicted Coca Cola from the company’s land.

Chavez has made no bones about being known as a hardline socialist, not lacking in desire to equate himself with another socialist revolutionary, Che Guevara.

“Whoever opposes me will be put in prison,” Chavez declared in a threatening tone. Over his television show, Chavez ordered the military to execute the seizure of the ports included in the list of expropriations. Opposition governors have rejected the interventionist government. The governor of Carabobo, Henrique Salas Feo, complained that the Chavez government “wants to impose its mafia to control the ports and airports of the country.”

Chavez has also ordered the expropriation of 30 of the more than 200 industrial vessels that have not signified their interest to abide by the law prohibiting trawling which came into effect very recently. The owners of the fishing fleet have condemned the government’s plan to take away the livelihood of some 25,000 fishermen. To this the fiery president responded, “All the ships that have opposed the measure, we are going to sink. Those who refused conversion, some 208 boats, will be expropriated and we will sink. There is a lot of junk that can be used on the seabed to build reefs.”

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Via The New York Times/Agoracom