US gunshows expect sales slump

[Katya Mullethov]

CARACAS (Reuters) - Russia is building arms plants in Venezuela to produce AK-103 automatic rifles and cartridges and is finalizing contracts to send 53 military helicopters to the Andean nation, Moscow's envoy to Venezuela saidMonday.

Ambassador Vladmir Zaemskiy told a news conference that Russian engineers and Venezuelan construction firms were building the rifle and cartridge plants which, when operational, would employ more than 1,500 workers
He gave no completion date for the plants under construction in the central state of Aragua.

Details about Moscow's military shipments and projects have been scarce since socialist President Hugo Chavez's government began signing military agreements with Russia back in 2001.

In recent years, Venezuela has bought over $4 billion in weapons from Russia, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets. Critics say Caracas is fueling an arms race in Latin America. Chavez says he is modernizing the military for defensive purposes .

[slackmaster]

1. LOL!

Good one.

[YOY]

2. Self delete

n/t

[Redneck Socialist]

3. None of those weapons are, or will be, available in the US on the civilian market

but don't let that stand in the way of whatever point you were hoping to make.

[TheWraith]

4. He was being sarcastic. nt

[geckosfeet]

5. Zip zoom. Nice haircut.

Guess he should have put the sarcasm (:sarcasm:) thingy in there for the chronically obtuse.

[Katya Mullethov]

6. Smilies are the linguistic crutch of the inarticulate

It would be prudent to let that particular mullet grow , just a little bit longer .

[geckosfeet]

7. Bwahh haaa haaa.

[GreenStormCloud]

9. I don't think he was talking about civilian gunshows, but rather the kind...

of gunshows that international sales are made at. I think he was saying that American international arms sales will slump while Russian sales will increase. I don't know enough about international arms sales to attempt a reasonable guess if he is right or wrong.

[Katya Mullethov]

10. The experts are all at SAR Phoenix right now

The concensus of the Swinney Switch Coffee Klatch is that Hugo and his partners have their beady little red commie eyes set on sponsoring further marxist destabilization in Mexico , Central , and South America .(If they really do build it)

[michreject]

14. He was talking about local gun shows

Don't you know that according to the media, local gun shows supply all the guns to drug lords south of the border.

[pipoman]

12. Claims are made that

all weapons used south of the US border are coming from US gun shows. Nonsense that it is, doesn't stop those who would like nothing more than to close down gun shows from continuing to lie about it.

[X_Digger]

8. *snort* n/t

[Euromutt]

11. "Andean nation"?

That's not exactly a phrase I'd choose to describe Venezuela. I mean, yes, the north-eastern end of the range does stretch into Venezuela, but it's a bit like describing France as "alpine."

[pipoman]

13. Damn

1500 employees. Production should be unreal, like every man woman and child in Venezuela could be armed in a couple of years.

Where are all these weapons going to go.