Two Somali pirates convicted of hijacking a boat in 2009 were sentenced to four hundred and thirty-nine years each of prison time. The two men had held a tuna fishing boat hostage, detaining thirty-six crew members for nearly fifty days. Despite the lengthy sentence that was handed down, the hijackers will only have to serve a maximum of thirty years in prison due to Spanish laws.

Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, threatened to nationalize the country's banking industry. Chavez declared that unless the banks concentrate on the "national interest" they will be nationalized. Chavez also threatened to nationalize the nation's largest steel producer unless they provide cheaper goods. These threats came after his somewhat successful nationalization of the Venezuelan media, electric, and oil industries.