Venezuela’s Military Build-up: Who’s Watching the Guns?

rock45

Active member
Venezuela’s Military Build-up: Who’s Watching the Guns?

This is a little dated but I found it interesting I hope these weapons aren't used against Americans in Colombia or South America. I think it's more rifles then there are soldiers in Venezuela's army.

Full story
http://www.fas.org/blog/ssp/2006/12/venezuelas_military_buildup_wh.php#more

n November 29th, Venezuela received the final shipment of the 100,000 AK-103 assault rifles that it purchased from Russia last year. Despite the high-profile nature of this sale, little is known about Venezuela’s plans for safeguarding the rifles, which would be a hot commodity on the region’s vibrant black market. It’s time to start asking some tough questions about the rifles and President Chavez’s plan for protecting them. The rifle deal is part of a multi-million dollar military build-up by the oil-rich country, which has also signed contracts for fighter jets and military helicopters, and is reportedly considering the purchase of Russian air defense systems, submarines, and infantry fighting vehicles. The sales have been a source of heated rhetoric, mostly from Chavez, and have strained relations with United States. Unhappy with the Venezuelan government’s lack of cooperation on terrorism and concerned about its military build-up, the Bush administration banned U.S. arms exports to Venezuela in May and pressured several countries to forego major weapons deals. Spain, Sweden and Brazil have obliged; Russia has not.




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