Aubaine à Caracas (photo : REUTERS / Carlos Garcia Rawlins)

Shoppers carry a washer outside an appliance store in Caracas November 11, 2013. President Nicolas Maduro’s government announced arrests of both store managers and looters on Sunday as part of what it calls an « economic war » in Venezuela between the socialist state and unscrupulous businessmen. In a major pre-Christmas campaign reminiscent of the late President Hugo Chavez’s dramatic style, Maduro has sent soldiers to « occupy » one chain of electronics stores and inspectors into scores of others to check for price-gouging. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins (VENEZUELA – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)