(T)Hugo Seizes Hilton

The government of (T)Hugo Chavez has taken over the Caracas Hilton hotel and is claiming a great victory for socialism. They now promise that all the residents of the "worker's paradise" will have access to the hotel.

If they can afford the unchanged rates.

It has been a landmark for the last 38 years, a point of navigation for taxi drivers and tourists alike, but now the Hilton Hotel in Caracas has been taken over by the state to become a "socialist tourism business".

"We want to put this hotel at the service of the people," said Eustacio Aguilera, the president of the Simon Bolivar Centre, the government cultural institution that owns the hotel. "Now everyone will have access to a great hotel and be able to enjoy it."

How the people will be able to afford a stay at the rechristened Hotel Alba Caracas is another question, as room prices will remain unchanged at £70 for the most simple rooms in a country where the average person lives on about £100 a month.

Meet the new boss. Chavez is nothing but a shakedown artist.