Venezuela seizes Kellogg cereal factory after closure

It comes after the firm announced it was pulling out of the country because of the worsening economic situation.

President Nicolas Maduro, who has previously accused the US of waging economic war against his government, called the closure “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal”.

He said the factory had been handed to workers and would continue production.

Earlier, workers had said they had been prevented from entering the plant in the central city of Maracay on Tuesday.

The announcement comes ahead of Sunday’s presidential elections.

“We’ve begun judicial proceedings against the business leaders of Kellogg’s because their exit is unconstitutional,” Mr Maduro told cheering supporters in the central state of Carabobo.

“I’ve taken the decision to deliver the company to the workers in order that they can continue producing for the people.”

Venezuela’s battered economy has been hit by falling oil revenue and the plummeting value of its currency, the bolivar. It also has one of the highest rates of inflation in the world.