Venezuela's President Calls for Prosecution of Food Magnate

President Nicolas Maduro has called for the prosecution of Venezuela's biggest businessman for allegedly conspiring against his government in a phone call discussing a possible international bailout for the crisis-stricken, oil-dependent economy Maduro late Sunday accused billionaire businessman Lorenzo Mendoza, president of the Empresas Polar food and beer conglomerate, of waging an "economic war" against Venezuela with the aim of surrendering control of the country to the International Monetary Fund. The sharp rebuke was in response to a phone conversation aired on state TV last week between Mendoza and outspoken government critic Ricardo Hausmann, a Harvard University economist who suggested Venezuela needs a $40 billion IMF bailout to stem a deep crisis marked by triple-digit inflation, widespread shortages and an estimated 10 percent shrinking of the economy this year. More…