In an effort to curtail escalating violence in Venezuela, the autocratic government of President Hugo Chavez decided on February 29 to establish a moratorium on the importation of firearms and the ceasing of all gun sales to members of the Venezuelan public.
Exempted from the restriction are state security agencies, the armed forces and duly registered security firms. The marketing of firearms and the sale of ammunition will also be terminated effective immediately, according to Interior and Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami.
COMMENT: Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the region, with 48 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants annually. According to government figures, a firearm is involved in 98% of homicides and 63% of the murder victims were hit with more than five rounds.
Unfortunately, the above stats are attributed not to the mishandling of firearms by those members of the law-abiding public, including expatriates, who currently possess firearms, but to the ineptness of the Chavez government to contain violent crime and keep firearms out of the hands of career criminals.
Sadly, if the truth be told, it is safe to say that the firearms in the hands of criminals can be linked to the three groupings EXEMPTED from the ban on firearms sales.
As is well-known, armed robbery, armed carjacking, ransom kidnapping, home invasion are already at unprecedented levels, yet the brilliant strategy of the Venezuelan government is to inhibit the vulnerable public from protecting itself, when the government itself has failed to adequately protect its citizens.
A final note: the interior and justice minister [talk about a conflict of interest!] made no reference to the government's plan on how to reconcile the firearms that are already in the hands of the law-abiding public. Dare we utter a confiscation plan in the works?
President Chavez typifies the Spanish term, "caudillo," or literally translated means "strong-man" or "tyrant," deriving loyalty to a person rather than an institution (i.e., office of the presidency).
For our readers who may not realize it, Hugo Chavez has been president for THIRTEEN years, during which he has transformed Venezuela from being one of the most respected nations in Latin America with a history of political and economic stability to being little more than a "banana republic," in the true sense of the term. One can only hope that his tenure is tenuous.
Exempted from the restriction are state security agencies, the armed forces and duly registered security firms. The marketing of firearms and the sale of ammunition will also be terminated effective immediately, according to Interior and Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami.
COMMENT: Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in the region, with 48 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants annually. According to government figures, a firearm is involved in 98% of homicides and 63% of the murder victims were hit with more than five rounds.
Unfortunately, the above stats are attributed not to the mishandling of firearms by those members of the law-abiding public, including expatriates, who currently possess firearms, but to the ineptness of the Chavez government to contain violent crime and keep firearms out of the hands of career criminals.
Sadly, if the truth be told, it is safe to say that the firearms in the hands of criminals can be linked to the three groupings EXEMPTED from the ban on firearms sales.
As is well-known, armed robbery, armed carjacking, ransom kidnapping, home invasion are already at unprecedented levels, yet the brilliant strategy of the Venezuelan government is to inhibit the vulnerable public from protecting itself, when the government itself has failed to adequately protect its citizens.
A final note: the interior and justice minister [talk about a conflict of interest!] made no reference to the government's plan on how to reconcile the firearms that are already in the hands of the law-abiding public. Dare we utter a confiscation plan in the works?
President Chavez typifies the Spanish term, "caudillo," or literally translated means "strong-man" or "tyrant," deriving loyalty to a person rather than an institution (i.e., office of the presidency).
For our readers who may not realize it, Hugo Chavez has been president for THIRTEEN years, during which he has transformed Venezuela from being one of the most respected nations in Latin America with a history of political and economic stability to being little more than a "banana republic," in the true sense of the term. One can only hope that his tenure is tenuous.
