#Venezuela

A couple of Venezuelan pilots packing a Barrett M107A1 along with 81 other firearms, 63,000 rounds of ammunition, a suppressor, armor, and over $20,000 in U.S. currency were intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.  On Saturday, August 15th, agents at the airport boarded and inspected the Venezuelan-registered aircraft, which had filed false flight plans from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  This aircraft was already suspect to “U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and CBP’s Office of Field Operations (OFO)”.

Recently this photo has been circulating social media. Assumptions were made that the photo is of a Venezuelan soldier wearing night vision but upon closer inspection, they are a cheap roleplay toy for children. The Venezuelan Army actually uses night vision but these are not it. Will the real Venezuelan night vision please stand up?

This week social media lit up when an AR with an AR57 upper was seen during the attempted coup in Venezuela. Made by AR57 LLC, of Kent, Washington, the AR57 launched a few years ago. People on social media were quick to question how this AR57 made its way to Venezuela, some even suggesting it was evidence of CIA involvement in the coup. The truth is probably a lot less sensational.

For many years we at TFB have been following the progress of Venezuela’s efforts to build a factory and produce AK-pattern rifles. In recent years 2019 has been the projected start date for production. Well, it’s now 2019 and according to Russian media sources everything is on track for Venezuelan AKs to start rolling off the production line before the end of the year.

Production at the long-planned and troubled Kalashnikov factory in Venezuela reportedly edges closer as politicians announce production is scheduled to begin rifle in late 2019. The construction of the plant was first confirmed way back in 2006.

According to Russian news agency TASS, Venezuela will finish the building of the AK-103 factories in 2019. Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin said that the problems with the building process of the plants are solved and they will run at full scale in 2019. He also said that all the Russian equipment and machinery are already delivered to Venezuela. So all they need to do now is to finish the construction of factory buildings, which are 70% completed.

In a futile attempt to curb the rampant violence in Venezuela, the National Guard and local police destroy 2,000 firearms that were seized or traded in for electronic goods. Reuters’ Article mentions that most firearms that criminals get are acquired from corrupt law enforcement. The new Interior Minister Nestor Reverol has publicly stated that they will bring about “disarmament and peace”.  Not sure how they plan on doing that other than by force. According to Reuters, Venezuela also purchased a laser engraver and plans to mark ammunition and somehow register ammunition.

Venezuela’s centrally planned economy may have run out of the essentials like toilet paper, milk and sugar, but a shortage of AK-103 rifles is not something they need worry about now that the government’s new rifle and ammunition factory has come online.

Infodefensa reports that The National Guard of Venezuela has purchased thousands of Beretta PX4 Storm pistols and carbines chambered in 9x19mm. The cost of the pistols, carbines and bulletproof vests (from an unspecified supplier) was $5,944,650.

Russia Today reports: