Many of us have warned of this possibility. If Chavez keeps the plant for himself the real test, and what the Chicoms will be watching very carefully, will be this country's response. If we attempt to recover it through diplomatic means then the Chicoms will know they can get away with it. If swift economic sanctions are imposed and threats of military actions are used then the Chicoms will hesitate.
In either case the threat of many U.S. companies losing billions of dollars in assets are still alive.
If it were not our money in the end that would be lost, I would not shed a tear over any company stupid enough to invest billions on hostile soil halfway across the globe.