Venezuela Extends Temporary Ban on Carrying Weapons for One Year

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The ban was first introduced in 2017 due to the outbreak of massive anti-government protests across the country sparked by unpopular government decisions, deep economic crisis and hyperinflation.

On Wednesday, Venezuelan authorities extended a temporary ban on carrying firearms and knives for one more year amid the growing turmoil the country, Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said.

"In accordance with a joint decision of the Ministry of Defense and the Interior… a temporary ban on carrying firearms and steel weapons on the whole territory of the country has been prolonged for a year. This measure, if necessary, to be extended, is part of the actions to guarantee the safety of citizens as well as peace and internal order,” Reverol wrote on Twitter.

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Venezuela has been mired in a political crisis for months after the country's Supreme Court decided to restrict the power of the National Assembly in 2017. Mass anti-government demonstrations in the country were further fueled by the election of a new lawmaking body, known as the Constituent Assembly, initiated by Maduro with the aim of rewriting the constitution.

The political crisis has been complicated by the fact that the economic situation in the country is affected by a global slump in oil prices and US sanctions imposed after Washington blocked US investors from buying Venezuelan debt.

According to various media reports, over 100 people died during protests last year.

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