Last week, 20,000 metric tons of rotten food was found at a seaport in Puerto Cabello, located 150 kilometers outside of Caracas. Among the food going to waste was rice, flour, milk, sugar, and cooking oil.

Today, President Chávez order those responsible arrested and charged. “Debacles like this cannot be forgiven,” Chávez said during a televised speech. “Justice must come into play with a well-sharpened sword.”

Chávez’s comments came after Venezuela’s Attorney General announced the arrest of Luis Enrique Pulido, the former president of PDVAL, the state-owned food distributor and producer. PDVAL is part of an expanding government network that controls approximately 20 percent of Venezuela’s food sales.

Puerto Cabello, Venezuela’s busiest port, is managed by the federal government. Critics of the chavista regime point to the rotten food incident as an example of the government’s inability to compete with the private sector in the food business.