Today, Cuba declared a two-month amnesty for unlicensed gun owners—an implicit acknowledgment of the presence of an illegal underground market in Cuba, since very few individuals beyond active military personnel and state security agents are legally allowed to even possess weapons. As the Associated Press reports:
“Even most police officers are required to leave their pistols at the station or in a regional barracks when on vacation or leave, and young men participating in mandatory military service are given unloaded firearms for most exercises.”
During this “exceptional and one-time only” two-month amnesty, gun owners who come forward and pass aptitude and psychological tests will be allowed to keep their weapons.
Unclear: will they have to pay a fee for registration? This would certainly deter some Cubans from coming forward. Indeed, the Prensa Latina announcement says that gun owners will have to pay established taxes related to gun ownership.
And Cuban officials have a history of mistrust to contend with: Cubans were encouraged to register any weapons they owned in the years after 1959. Then later, authorities used the list of those who had sought licenses to go door-to-door and encourage them to turn over their firearms.
(Photo from bolditalic.com)
