Photo from Reuters

Michele Malkin writes this morning that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is focused on the important issues that affect Venezuelans – like using Spanish words.

President Hugo Chavez’s government is taking its battle against U.S. “imperialism” into Venezuelans’ vocabulary, urging state phone company workers to eschew English-language business and tech terms that have crept into the local vernacular.

Meanwhile, Venezuelans on the border with Colombia have less important concerns – like kidnapped family members (Miami Herald link);

President Hugo Chávez has reveled in praise worldwide for helping secure the release last month of two Colombian hostages held by the FARC guerrillas in the neighboring country.

But his efforts to free other Colombians from captivity are provoking anger here along Venezuela’s western border with Colombia, where kidnappings of Venezuelan ranchers and businessmen have risen dramatically.

”The president says that the guerrillas don’t hold Venezuelans,” said Alejandro García, a municipal official. “The facts say otherwise. We have proof from witnesses, telephone records and [ransom] letters.”

Cattle growers and their political allies say Colombian rebels hold 16 Venezuelan kidnap victims and complain that Chávez is doing little to win their freedom, despite his sway with the FARC.

The Devil’s Excrement reports that food shortages in Venezuela are influencing the government to begin issuing ration cards;

And so it begins. After shortages arising from price controls and the Government’s inefficient intervention into the food distribution chain, the new PDVSA owned PDVAL markets will have what effectively represents the introduction of rationing cards in Venezuela.

Las Armas de Coronel reports that the Venezuelan oil industry, the main engine of the Venezuelan economy is collapsing. This morning, Venezuela announced an end to food exports (Adelaide Now link);

VENEZUELA will halt exports of foods such as milk and meat unless domestic demand is met first, the government said today, as leftist president Hugo Chavez struggles with shortages of staple products.

Venezuelan shoppers have for months faced shortages of basics such as milk and chicken, a problem the government blames on growing demand and hoarding but business leaders say stems from price controls that do not keep pace with high inflation.

Oh, and bombings of business interests in the capitol probably aren’t very important, either (AP/MSNBC link);

A small bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Venezuela’s leading business chamber on Sunday, killing one person, police said.

The blast occurred near the entrance of the Fedecamaras business chamber headquarters in Caracas’s middle-class district of La Florida at approximately 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. EST), killing an unidentified man and shattering windows, Federal Police Chief Marcos Chavez said.

“There’s a person who was close by, and presumably could have been hit by the shock wave,” Chavez said in a brief telephone interview. “We still have not identified the person.”

It probably doesn’t matter that Chavez has threatened businesses represented at the bombed business chamber;

Government officials have denied that Chavez’s administration was behind previous attacks.

Last week, Gonzalez strongly criticized Chavez for accusing local businesses of stockpiling products to sell later at inflated prices as Venezuelans struggle with sporadic food shortages.

Chavez warned recently that any business caught hoarding goods such as chicken, eggs and milk “should be seized and taken under government control” — threats that alarmed Fedecamaras.

The socialist leader called Empresas Polar — Venezuela’s largest food producer — a “clear example” of the kind of business that is ripe for takeover.

But, for pete’s sake, please say “raton” instead of “mouse” – after all what’s most important here?