By Dave Workman | Senior Editor
If there is a single lesson to be learned from the current strife in Venezuela, it’s that civilian disarmament by a socialist government never ends well, and that much was even acknowledged by a correspondent speaking to MSNBC.
MSNBC contributor Kerry Sanders made a startling observation while speaking with host Andrea Mitchell as he was covering the violent outbreak in Caracas to remove President Nicolas Maduro. Opposition leader Juan Guaido is recognized by some 50 countries as the rightful leader in Venezuela, although Maduro insists he won the election last year. There are complaints about vote fraud.
“You have to understand,” Sanders said, “in Venezuela gun ownership is not something that’s open to everybody. So if the military have the guns, they have the power.”
Gun ownership was outlawed under the late dictator Hugo Chavez, Mediaite noted.
There was never a Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in the country, but in 2012, civilian arms were prohibited. Seven years later, Venezuelan citizens have found out what that means. Video footage of an armored vehicle ramming demonstrators in Caracas went viral on social media.
Guaido called on the military to support him and throw Maduro out.
The country was plunged into chaos as Maduro appealed to the military to support him.
At one time Venezuela was “an economic leader in the western hemisphere,” according to Fox News. It reportedly has the largest oil reserves on the planet. But then came Chavez, under whose rule Venezuela turned to socialism and the economy collapsed.
The people, who were quickly disarmed, were unable to resist. Chavez is dead but he’s been replaced by Maduro.
The country appears to be at a tipping point, and the trouble underscores what President Donald Trump recently promised that the United States will never become: a socialist nation.
Bloomberg News was reporting that the apparent effort to topple Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro was a failure.
The difference between an insurrection and peaceful transition of power might be rooted in the ability of the populace to resist. In August 1974, then-President Richard M. Nixon, his administration racked by scandal and his probable impeachment looming, resigned from office. There was no violent revolution, no military takeover and in a nation of armed citizens, the process was remarkably calm and the Constitution was followed.
In Venezuela, the streets erupted in violence, people resorted to throwing rocks, and the assault with armored vehicles was caught on camera.
