Venezuelan president wants to talk to Toyota exec

Toyota's 9,500 cars produced in Venezuela are an insignificant drop in the bucket for the company, worldwide. If I were them, I'd pull out completely; the country is in ruins.

That is the reason why nations that are controlled by socialist and communist leaders is not trustful. Venezuela could be a self sufficient nation, but because of her police she can't develop her relation with other nations. As a result, Venezuela tend to be isolate from her neighbors that have different polices.

Classic left wing's lesson on the economy that runs on nationalism hype and lacking the understanding of world economy, modernity and human nature. Even communist China changes its course, but not Cuba, Venezuela, and others in S. America? Well, he should pray to Hugo Chavez and look at himself and talking to the mirror for the solution.

Maduro is really going for the gold in the Incompetent Leader Olympics. They'll probably Nationalize the Toyota plant and further crush it into the ground. Then blame Americans when it fails utterly.

A rich country that has abundant petrol reserves, but so messed that its citizens can't find toilet papers in supermarkes can't have a company like Toyota working properly. Well, every people have the administration they deserve...Venezuelans voted for Maduro, so you may say they had it coming...

Choking the economy is never going to fix problems, Venezuela - especially if foreign companies cannot manage their businesses properly because of currency controls.

Anyone else think they've shot themselves in the foot over this?

Indeed this clown and his predecessor Chavez are slowly destroying Venezuela.

Watching Venesuala disintegrate before our eyes.

Mitsuo MatsuyamaFEB. 10, 2014 - 08:09AM JSTf her police she can't develop her relation with other nations.

Exactly. If they can't do that, stay with Ms.Universe-driven economy and forget about foreign investment.

Sad for today's Venezuelans, but there is hope. How can their socialist experiment not fail so miserably, so as to ensure that one day people there will come out the other end, realizing the folly of the socialist approach, just as did others in other former basket cases, and commit to free and open markets for their people?

Must be a beautiful place, situated on the edge of the Caribbean.

I am not saying it is par for the course for Central and South America but it is going to take years to fix their problems if ever Seeing that the western nations are now subject to same internal destruction those countries suffered for generations. It was not always so. Argentina, Brazil Chile and others were way better off in the 30's 40's and 50's until the communists destroyed them.!

What a bunch of hysterical hyperbole, Toby. The notion that the past military dictatorships of South America's largest economies were better than their modern democracies sure sounds condescending. I see no rational way you could argue that center-left leaders like Lula "destroyed" Brazil. Can you back that up?