Who's Watching the Guns

[tigershark]

I found this interesting military Blog and it listed a story about the thousands of assault rifles now in Venezuela.   The story is a little dated but interesting. 

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

[Venezuelan FALs] On 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.

In each case, Chavez and his officials have responded with characteristic bombast and vitriol, calling the U.S. a “senseless, blind and dumb giant” and accusing it of attempting to “isolate Venezuela, destabilize its democratic government and prepare the political conditions for an attack."

While Chavez’s colorful insults steal the headlines, the issue of greatest importance—the influx of thousands of rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition into a region rife with black market arms trafficking—has received scant meaningful attention. The illicit arms trade stocks the arsenals of Colombian rebels and international narcotics traffickers, and the Venezuelan military has already inadvertently contributed dozens of its old FAL assault rifles to this trade. A 2003 study by the RAND Corporation found that weapons, some of which “are registered to the Venezuelan Armed Forces…routinely move from Venezuela into Colombia.” These findings are corroborated by a variety of sources, including Colombian

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

[Webmaster]

I think "Who's watching the old guns?" is a bigger concern... what will happen to the old ones which will be replaced by the new AKs?

[Gripen]

They end up on the blackmarket then in LA, New York, Chicago, Middle East, and other places where people are..

which is a lot, but you know what i mean

[Raptor]

And maybe some will head down to... perhaps Myanmar?

[tigershark]

I didn't know that LA, New York, Chicago, are know for buying used weapons from Venezuela.  javascript:void(0);
Grin
I think Bolivia will get some and most likely judging from the past FARC operators.   The bulk will be held until Chavez decides where he wants to send them.   Nobody knows his future plans but to me at some point somebody who he supports will received them at the right time.   

[Webmaster]

Just thought maybe the old FALs go to the police units?

[Raptor]

The poor police...

[Gripen]

I didn't know that LA, New York, Chicago, are know for buying used weapons from Venezuela.  javascript:void(0);
Grin
I think Bolivia will get some and most likely judging from the past FARC operators.   The bulk will be held until Chavez decides where he wants to send them.   Nobody knows his future plans but to me at some point somebody who he supports will received them at the right time.  

Explain FARC

?

[Raptor]

Question. How many old guns are there?

[tigershark]

Uribe: Chavez wants a Marxist FARC government in Colombia
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h38LF1xlbHKvSwV8pfmsfWV93Ddw

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia - FARC
http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/farc.htm

FARC, ELN, AUC (Colombia, rebels)
http://www.cfr.org/publication/9272/

[Sergei]

Good afternoon!

Interesting reasonings... Ugo Chavez helps to get out Ingrid Betancour not that as speaks Urribe, FARC has come to power and to earn to itself even greater authority on the countries of South America.

Applications Urribe - delirium and lie. Really Armed forces of Colombia can't cope FARC??? Certainly can! But to such people as Urribe it's necessary to wash as much as possible the money allocated from the military budget of Colombia on struggle against insurgents FARC. All is very simple.