Venezuelans, abandoned by their newly sworn-in political elites and trapped in an asymmetric war zone, have begun demanding the individual gun rights they lost under late dictator Hugo Chávez.
Rumbo Libertad, Venezuela’s first genuinely conservative political movement, is leading the charge.
Venezuelans once enjoyed partial gun rights before the Chávez and, now, Nicolás Maduro socialist tyranny. Chávez progressively violated those rights, especially
after the 2002 failed coup against him, before ultimately pushing for his total “Disarmament Law” (
Ley Desarme). Chávez did not live to see Maduro impose that law in 2013, redeeming “the cause” after the first dictator’s passing.
The law is an affront to individual rights, essentially banning Venezuelans from possessing firearms for any reason. The result, as with all gun restrictions, has been full disarmament of law-abiding citizens while Venezuelan prisons
overflow with advanced weaponry and the nation’s murder rate skyrockets, placing it routinely atop the
list of the world’s deadliest non-wartime states.