From: Wilson@nowhere.invalid   
      
   https://x.com/AgrisAcademy/status/2008280244105380254   
      
   My Venezuela experience as head of trading in the region for Cargill.   
      
   Cargill was the leading producer of critical staple ingredients such as   
   flour, pasta, vegetable oil, and rice in VZ.   
      
   I am not saying I agree with grabbing the dictator, but I did have a   
   front row seat to the damage a kleptocracy did to innocent people.   
      
   1.   The government took over our "minute rice" facility at gunpoint   
   because we were "gouging" the nation's poor. The government was never   
   able to run the plant.  It never ran again. It was returned years later   
   with no equipment inside.   
      
   2.  There are 1000's of generals in the army. They are each given a   
   slice of the economy to loot. The large number of generals made it   
   difficult to organize a coup against the regime.   
      
   3.  The government opened grocery stores and sold staples below the cost   
   we sold them to the government. In theory they used petro oil money to   
   lower grocery prices. Our regular grocery outlets were forced out of   
   business. When the government demanded we sell them products below cost   
   we simply had to shut down. The populous became ever more dependent on   
   the government handouts. (PS this is the mayor of New York City's proposal).   
      
   4.  Dollars - We needed dollars to go buy raw materials like wheat from   
   places like the US and Canada. The government would periodically   
   allocate us some dollars that could only be spent for raw materials and   
   freight. Eventually only the local companies that can and would pay   
   bribes got dollar allocations. We had several facilities closed for lack   
   of raw material.   
      
   5.  My employees liked working for Cargill. The office was an armed   
   compound with access to a gym, high speed internet, global   
   communications, and a weekly box of basic staples. Cargill provided a   
   safe and secure environment if only for the working hours.   
      
   6.  Employees became very close to others inside the apartment building.   
      Going out on the street with a desperate population was not advisable.   
      
   7.  I needed wood pallets for feed. We tried to export wood pallets to   
   swap for grain. We refused to pay the bribes it would take to export the   
   pallets.   
      
   8.   I once tried to set up a closed loop wheat planting to flour mill   
   supply chain. They came and stole all the seed wheat for food. When we   
   tried to ship in seed wheat in containers via US donors there was no way   
   to get it out of the port without it being stolen.   
      
   9.  Livestock - Our feed business completely collapsed. Even if you   
   could raise a pig, you couldn't defend it from being stolen. People with   
   guns were hungry.   
      
   10.  Employees - In the end my highly skilled team alone with other   
   highly educated people chose to leave. Cargill often found jobs for them   
   in other Latin countries. The regime was more than happy to see the   
   well-educated leave the country. Setting these employees up with high   
   quality stable jobs after fleeing remains one of the best things I ever   
   did in my career. No one remembers millions in trading earnings.   
      
   This is a short list. In my opinion the first money spent needs to   
   happen now and it needs to be food. The US is already on the clock.   
   The current regime does not care if it starves the population. The orgy   
   of theft will actually accelerate if they believe their days are   
   numbered. VZ should be an outstanding customer of US grown ag products.   
     Rice, bread wheat, veg oil ect. Feed the people first.   
      
   Jeff Kazin   
   Former head trading Cargill   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)