CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez has ordered the expropriation of privately owned buildings within Venezuela’s historical capital district.

Chavez says retailers and restaurateurs shouldn’t occupy buildings surrounding Plaza Bolivar that the government is seeking to renovate.

Chavez on Sunday told Jorge Rodriguez, the mayor of the capital’s El Libertador district, to seize control of the buildings.

The president argued that the historical district, some of which dates back to Venezuela’s colonial era, should be owned and managed by the government.