Venezuela's Maduro threatens to jail Kimberly-Clark executives with Interpol

CARACAS, Venezuela, July 19 (UPI) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has threatened to jail Kimberly-Clark executives by soliciting an Interpol red notice after the Texas-based company shut down a factory in the South American country.

"The ones who must go to jail will go to jail, wherever they are, because we will ask for a red notice" from Interpol, Maduro said Monday during a televised address.

Maduro said Kimberly-Clark violated the rights of workers by shutting down the factory.

Red notices are not international arrest warrants, but a way for Interpol to inform member nations that an arrest warrant has been issued by a judicial authority that seeks the location and arrest of wanted persons for the purpose of extradition or similar lawful action. It is unclear which Kimberly-Clark executives Maduro referenced or where they are.

Interpol cannot send officers to arrest or compel member nations to arrest individuals under red notices.

Maduro also said Kimberly-Clark executives lied to workers about the company depositing money akin to severance payments to their bank accounts.

Last week, the Venezuelan government seized a factory owned by Kimberly-Clark after production was halted due to a lack of raw materials, soaring inflation and strict currency controls amid a deteriorating Venezuelan economic collapse.

Venezuela said Kimberly-Clark's closure of the factory in Maracay was illegal because the company fired nearly 1,000 workers without first consulting the government. The Venezuelan government restarted production at the plant.

Kimberly-Clark produces personal and healthcare products, including toilet paper and diapers.