Lest anyone think hunger caused by expropriation of property was exclusively a 20th century problem, attention should be paid to Venezuela, where agricultural output collapsed in the 21st century in response to expropriation of fertiliser factories, followed by expropriation of agricultural land and other assets. Agricultural output, including cattle and chicken production, fell dramatically in the ensuing years. The resulting hunger, and the loss of weight (an average of 8.6kg per adult, as measured in 2016), came to be known as the “Maduro Diet,” after Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

The regime, which through the state oil monopoly Petróleos de Venezuela controls the world’s largest proven reserves of petroleum, brushed off the problem by using oil revenues to import huge quantities of food. In 2010, even the Venezuelan government admitted that tens of thousands of tonnes of imported food were allowed to rot by corrupt state firms.

In the ensuing 10 years the situation has worsened. When oil output collapsed due to state mismanagement, followed by the free fall in petroleum prices, the regime found itself with almost no funds with which to purchase food. According to the UN high commissioner for refugees, already at least 4.5-million Venezuelans — over 15% of the population of the country — have fled the country. Every day more seek to escape to neighbouring countries.