Venezuela Seizes U.S. Pasta Company: Says It’s Got Too Much Dough

Venezuela has stepped in and seized a U.S. pasta company, charging that it took too much dough for its product:

Venezuelan officials accompanied by soldiers have seized “temporary” control of a US-owned pasta producer.

Venezuela says the plant, owned by the big US firm Cargill, had violated regulations on price controls intended to guarantee cheap food for the poor.

The move further increases President Hugo Chavez’s hold on the economy, after a series of recent take-overs of private and foreign-owned businesses.

They include a Cargill rice plant, and services companies in the oil industry.

Deputy Food Minister Rafael Coronado said the government would run the factory for 90 days, and would reassess the situation after that.

He said it has not been producing sufficient quantities of a type of pasta sold at cheap, government-established prices.

Is this an unwise move by Chavez, or is he using his noodle?