The Oakland-based Clorox Company has shut down two factories in Venezuela because it says the country’s price controls are too onerous, among other problems—and Venezuela has responded by seizing the facilities with plans to reopen them. From Reuters:



In the latest sign of dissatisfaction from private businesses with [President Nicolas] Maduro’s running of the South American OPEC nation’s economy, Clorox announced its exit on Monday, saying its business was not viable and that it would sell its assets. …

The company said operating restrictions imposed by the government, economic uncertainty and supply disruptions would have led to considerable operating losses.

Other multinationals, including Colgate-Palmolive and Avon, have made similar complaints about the Venezeulan economy. Maduro, a close ally of late socialist strongman Hugo Chavez, was elected president by a narrow margin in April of last year.

The United States and Venezuela have not had ambassadors in each others’ countries since a 2010 tiff over one American diplomat’s critical comments. (Venezuela still sells the United States a great deal of oil.)

