It seems the Venezuelan government has been abusing its power more and more:
The abuse of power by the Venezuelan government under President Hugo Chavez has increased over the past four years, according to Human Rights Watch.
Legislation limiting free speech and the removal of institutional safeguards give the government free rein to censor and intimidate critics, the group says.
[…]
Its latest report, entitled Tightening the Grip: Concentration and Abuse of Power in Chavez’s Venezuela, argues that the human rights situation in the country has become even more precarious.
I doubt it’s a coincidence that the Venezuelan government has been increasingly infringing on free speech and ignoring supposed institutional safeguards during the same span of time that it’s been restricting gun ownership. In “>2006 the Venezuelan government implemented stricter gun control laws and went even further this year when it banned legal gun ownership for non-military and non-police personell. History has demonstrated that states start implementing arms control as they are ramping up the tyranny machinery.
Jews for the Preservation of Firearm Ownership has an excellent list of states that implemented gun control schemes shortly before beginning acts of genocide. The Soviet Union, for example, didn’t abolish private gun ownership until 1929, immediately before Stalin’s purges began. Nazi Germany also implemented gun control laws that prevented Jews and other state-proclaimed enemies from owning firearms. Needless to say it’s not surprising to see Venezuela following the same road. Now that Chavez’s empire has declared a state monopoly on gun ownership things are bound to only get worse. Again, if you live in Venezuela it would be a good time to get out.