Americas

Americas

Venezuela prohibits sales of guns, ammunition

02 June 2012 09:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA. Venezuela’s government banned sales of guns and ammunition Friday with a measure that officials said is aimed at fighting rampant violent crime. APA reports quoting â€œAssociated Pressâ€ that private gun shops are now prohibited from selling guns under the measure, which had been announced previously.

Only the police and the military will be exempt from the ban on gun sales, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said.

Critics noted that only a small percentage of guns have recently been sold legally to permit holders and said most gun sales have long been illegal and unregulated.

Luis Izquiel, a lawyer who heads a security committee for Venezuela’s opposition coalition, said that while there are about 25,000 gun permits legally registered with the authorities, there are many more weapons on the streets. In 2010, Amnesty International estimated there were a total of 10 million firearms in the country.