President Hugo Chavez's government began taking over management of a Hilton-run hotel on Venezuela's Margarita Island on Wednesday.
Tourism Minister Pedro Morejon said a 20-year concession granted to the company has expired and the government "has taken legitimate control of an asset that belongs to all the people of Venezuela."
Chavez issued a decree last week ordering the "forced acquisition" of the Margarita Hilton & Suites and its marina, though news of the edict did not surface until Tuesday.
Morejon said the government has held majority ownership of the hotel since 1995, when a banking crisis forced many of the hotel's shareholders to sell their assets to the state.
It was not immediately clear what assets Hilton owns within the hotel complex, but the decree forces it to sell whatever it has. Officials have not said how much Venezuela will pay in compensation, or when.
