The Zimbabwe effect is rolling in fast and thick in Venezuela. Confiscations of churches, land, businesses and bank accounts are accelerating. Each day brings news of new expropriations in ‘the name of the people.’ Never before has such an abuse of property rights been so bold.

Today, we noted that a Church had been taken over on these dubious grounds with Alek Boyd’s story here. But that’s hardly all.

Tomas Sancio shares his thoughts on the blatant theft of several grain silos belonging to a beer company in Venezuela. Supposedly they were ‘idle’ but Tomas asks, ‘what is the definition of idle?’ No one knows why they were confiscated but he offers a lot of thoughts here.

VCrisis has complete reporting on the dictatorship’s takeover of the banks and all people’s deposits which can be read here.

And today, a Heinz ketchup plant was taken over in the name of ‘the people’ as the company pleads to have it returned to them. Amid their forlorn pleas, they may not realize they are dealing with communists.

There is a fantastic roundup of these events, along with good analysis at Miguel Octavio’s blog, in a post called ‘Law of the Jungle’ – it’s a don’t-miss-it post that can be read here.