expropriation

A change in control of Citgo would mark the final chapter in a lengthy effort by Venezuela’s foreign creditors to seize the refiner as compensation for asset expropriations and debt defaults.

But the government's expropriation plans have divided opinion in Villa Baviera, where fewer than 100 adults live.

The lawyers said that all expropriations had "extensive procedural fairness requirements", including the owner's right to go to court if they were not happy.

"Your land becomes worthless - the land expropriation has gone too far," he says.

The expropriation law does allow the government to seize land without compensation, but only in certain circumstances.