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United States–Venezuela relations
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American–Venezuelan relations

United States

Venezuela
United States–Venezuela relations are the bilateral relations between the United States of America and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Relations have traditionally been characterized by an important trade and investment relationship and cooperation in combating the production and transit of illegal drugs. Relations were strong under traditional governments in Venezuela, such as those of Carlos Andrés Pérez and Rafael Caldera.[1] However, tensions increased after the socialist President Hugo Chávez assumed elected office in 1999. Tensions between the countries further increased after Venezuela accused the administration of George W. Bush of supporting the Venezuelan failed coup attempt in 2002 against Chavez,[2][3] an accusation that was partly retracted later.[4] Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with the U.S. in September 2008 in solidarity with Bolivia after a U.S. ambassador was accused of cooperating with violent anti-government groups in that country, though relations were reestablished under President Barack Obama in June 2009. In February 2014, the Venezuelan government ordered three American diplomats to leave the country on charges of promoting violence.[5]
Contents
[hide]
1 The Roosevelt Corollary and Dollar Diplomacy
2 Pérez Jimenez Regime (1953-1958)
3 Puntofijo Pact
4 Presidency of Hugo Chávez
4.1 Vargas tragedy
4.2 United States interference allegations
4.3 Economic relations
4.4 Opposition to U.S. foreign policy
4.5 Personal disputes
4.6 Response to Pat Robertson assassination calls
4.7 Relations with Cuba and Iran
4.8 Organization of American States
4.9 Hurricane Katrina
4.10 U.S. Administrations
4.10.1 Presidency of Barack Obama
4.10.2 Allegations of U.S. Involvement in Chavez' death
5 Presidency of Nicolás Maduro
6 United States–Venezuela views
6.1 United States
7 SICOFAA
8 See also
9 Notes
10 Further reading
11 External links
The Roosevelt Corollary and Dollar Diplomacy[edit]
The Venezuela Crisis of 1902–03 saw a naval blockade of several months imposed against Venezuela by Britain, Germany and Italy over President Cipriano Castro's refusal to pay foreign debts and damages suffered by European citizens in a recent Venezuelan civil war. Castro assumed that the United States' Monroe Doctrine would see that the U.S. prevent European military intervention, but at the time the U.S. saw the Doctrine as concerning European seizure of territory, rather than intervention per se. Though U.S. Secretary of State, Elihu Root, characterized Castro as a "crazy brute" or a "monkey", President Theodore Roosevelt was concerned with the prospects of penetration into the region by Germany. With Castro failing to back down under U.S. pressure and increasingly negative British and American press reactions to the affair, the blockading nations agreed to a compromise, but maintained the blockade during negotiations over the details. This incident was a major driver of the Roosevelt Corollary and the subsequent U.S. Big Stick policy and Dollar Diplomacy in Latin America.
When American diplomat, Herbert Wolcott Bowen, returned to Venezuela in January 1904, he noticed Venezuela seemed more peaceful and secure. Castro would reassure Bowen that the United States and Venezuela were experiencing a strong relationship. However, after the Castro regime delayed fulfilling the agreements which ended the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03, Bowen lost confidence. This would eventually lead to the Castro regime's economic policy angering the United States, France, and the Netherlands.[6] This would play a crucial role in the Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908.
Pérez Jimenez Regime (1953-1958)[edit]
Under the rule of the Dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez, the Venezuelan economy experienced a boom, born from Venezuela's great oil wealth. During this prosperity, foreign investment, particularly from American oil companies, grew along with the support from the Jimenez Regime. The staunchly anti-communist regime allowed and supported the exploitation of the country's natural resources by the American oil industry, as a portion of the profits made its way from companies like Mobil and Exxon[7] to the personal coffers of Perez Jimenez. For his support of these American companies, he received the Legion of Merit from the U.S. Government in 1954.[8]
At the same time, United States intelligence agencies collaborated with Perez's Seguridad Nacional to silence communists and social-democrat voices in Venezuela. The Seguridad Nacional, headed by Pedro Estrada, disappeared and tortured thousands of Venezuelans, both in its headquarters in Caracas and in a confinement camp on Guasina Island in the jungles of the Orinoco. When Jimenez abandoned the government and the country on January 23, 1958, more than 400 prisoners were found in the basement of the headquarters of the Seguridad Nacional.[9]
Puntofijo Pact[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2018)
Main article: Puntofijo Pact
Relations have traditionally been characterized by an important trade and investment relationship and cooperation in combating the production and transit of illegal drugs and were strong under the Puntofijo Pact governments in Venezuela, such as those of Carlos Andrés Pérez and Rafael Caldera.[1]
Presidency of Hugo Chávez[edit]
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After Hugo Chávez was first elected President of Venezuela by a landslide in 1998, the South American country began to reassert sovereignty over its oil reserves. This action challenged the comfortable position held by U.S. economic interests for the better part of a century. The Chávez administration overturned the privatization of the state-owned oil company PDVSA, raising royalties for foreign firms and eventually doubling the country's GDP.[10] Those oil revenues were used to fund social programs aimed at fostering human development in areas such as health, education, employment, housing, technology, culture, pensions, and access to safe drinking water.
Chávez's public friendship and significant trade relationship with Cuba and Fidel Castro undermined the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba; moreover, on Chavez's initiative, long-running ties between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries were severed. During Venezuela's presidency of OPEC in 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries. In the process, he became the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. The visit was controversial both in the U.S., although, Chávez did respect the ban on international flights to and from Iraq as he drove from his previous stop in Iran.[11]
Vargas tragedy[edit]
Main article: Vargas tragedy
During the evacuation of survivors of the Vargas tragedy, when torrential rains and the flash floods and debris flows in the Vargas State in 2000 killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed thousands of homes, a disaster relief team from the United States headed up by New Mexico Senator Joseph Carraro arrived with a medical team and supplies to assess the damage and help those who were displaced. Contact was made with Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico to determine any radioactive activity included in debris field. Water purification and sleeping units were provided.[12]
The disaster clean-up soon became politicized. Chávez initially accepted assistance from anyone who offered, with the United States sending helicopters and dozens of soldiers that arrived two days after the disaster. When defense minister Raúl Salazar complied with the offer of the United States' further aid that included 450 Marines and naval engineers aboard the USS Tortuga which was setting sail to Venezuela, Chávez told Salazar to decline the offer since "[i]t was a matter of sovereignty". Salazar became angry and assumed that Chávez's opinion was influenced by talks with Fidel Castro, though he complied with Chávez's order. Though additional aid was necessary, Chávez thought a more revolutionary image was more important and the USS Tortuga returned to its port.[13]
United States interference allegations[edit]
In April 2002, 19 people died the Llaguno Overpass events in Venezuela, which resulted in Chavez’ removal from power while an interim government led.[14] After returning to power, Chávez claimed that a plane with U.S. registration numbers had visited and been berthed at Venezuela's Orchila Island airbase, where Chávez had been held captive.[citation needed] On May 14, 2002, Chávez alleged that he had definitive proof of U.S. military involvement in April's coup.[citation needed] He claimed that during the coup, Venezuelan radar images had indicated the presence of U.S. military naval vessels and aircraft in Venezuelan waters and airspace. The Guardian published a claim by Wayne Madsen– a writer (at the time) for left-wing publications and a former Navy analyst and critic of the George W. Bush administration– alleging U.S. Navy involvement.[15] U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, D-CT, requested an investigation of concerns that Washington appeared to condone the removal of Mr Chavez,[16][17] which found that "U.S. officials acted appropriately and did nothing to encourage an April coup against Venezuela's president" nor did they provide any naval logistical support.[18][19] CIA documents indicate that the Bush administration knew about a plot weeks before the April 2002 military coup. They cite a document dated April 6, 2002, which says: "dissident military factions...are stepping up efforts to organize a coup against President Chavez, possibly as early as this month.[14] According to William Brownfield, ambassador to Venezuela, the U.S. embassy in Venezuela warned Chávez about a coup plot in April 2002.[20] Further, the United States Department of State and the investigation by the Office of the Inspector General found no evidence that "U.S. assistance programs in Venezuela, including those funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), were inconsistent with U.S. law or policy" or ". . . directly contributed, or was intended to contribute, to [the coup d'état]."[18][21]
Chávez also claimed, during the coup's immediate aftermath, that the U.S. was still seeking his overthrow. On October 6, 2002, he stated that he had foiled a new coup plot, and on 20 October 2002, he stated that he had barely escaped an assassination attempt while returning from a trip to Europe. However, his administration failed to investigate or present conclusive evidence to that effect. During that period, the US Ambassador to Venezuela warned the Chávez administration of two potential assassination plots.[20]
Venezuela expelled US naval commander, John Correa, in January 2006. The Venezuelan government claimed Correa, an attaché at the US embassy, had been collecting information from low-ranking Venezuelan military officers. Chavez claimed he had infiltrated the US embassy and found evidence of Correa's spying. The US declared these claims "baseless" and responded by expelling Jeny Figueredo, the chief aid to the Venezuelan ambassador, to the US. Chavez promoted Figueredo to Deputy Foreign Minister to Europe.[22]
Hugo Chávez repeatedly alleged that the US had a plan, entitled Plan Balboa, to invade Venezuela. In an interview with Ted Koppel, Chavez stated "I have evidence that there are plans to invade Venezuela. Furthermore, we have documentation: how many bombers to overfly Venezuela on the day of the invasion, how many trans-Atlantic carriers, how many aircraft carriers..."[23] Neither President Chavez nor officials of his administration ever presented such evidence. The US denies the allegations, claiming that Plan Balboa is a military simulation carried out by Spain.[24]
On February 20, 2005, Chávez reported that the U.S. had plans to have him assassinated; he stated that any such attempt would result in an immediate cessation of U.S.-bound Venezuelan petroleum shipments.[25]
Economic relations[edit]
Chávez's socialist ideology and the tensions between the Venezuelan and the United States governments had little impact on economic relations between the two countries. On September 15, 2005, President Bush designated Venezuela as a country that has "failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements." However, at the same time, the President waived the economic sanctions that would normally accompany such a designation, because they would have curtailed his government's assistance for democracy programs in Venezuela.[26] In 2006, the United States remained Venezuela's most important trading partner for both oil exports and general imports – bilateral trade expanded 36% during that year[27] As of 2007, the U.S. imported more than $40 billion in oil from Venezuela and the trade between the countries topped $50 billion despite the tumultuous relationship between the two.[28]
With rising oil prices and Venezuela’s oil exports accounting for the bulk of trade, bilateral trade between the US and Venezuela surged, with US companies and the Venezuelan government benefiting.[29] Nonetheless, since May 2006, the Department of State, pursuant to Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act, has prohibited the sale of defense articles and services to Venezuela because of lack of cooperation on anti-terrorism efforts.[30]
Opposition to U.S. foreign policy[edit]
Since the start of the George W. Bush administration in 2001, relations between Venezuela and the United States deteriorated markedly, as Chávez became highly critical of the U.S. economic and foreign policy. Moreover, he has critiqued U.S. policy with regards to Iraq, Haiti, Kosovo the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and other areas. Chávez also denounced the U.S.-backed ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.[citation needed] In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Chávez said that Bush promoted "a false democracy of the elite" and a "democracy of bombs".[31]
Chávez's public friendship and significant trade relationship with Cuba and Fidel Castro undermined the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba; moreover, on Chavez's initiative, long-running ties between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries were also severed. Chávez's stance as an OPEC price hawk has also raised the price of petroleum for American consumers, as Venezuela pushed OPEC producers towards lower production ceilings, with the resultant price settling around $25 a barrel prior to 2004. During Venezuela's holding of the OPEC presidency in 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries. In the process, he became the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. The visit was controversial both in Venezuela and in the US, although Chávez did respect the ban on international flights to and from Iraq (he drove from Iran, his previous stop).[32]
The Bush administration consistently opposed Chávez's policies. Although it did not immediately recognize the Carmona government upon its installation during the 2002 attempted coup, it had funded groups behind the coup, speedily acknowledged the new government and seemed to hope it would last.[33] The U.S. government called Chávez a "negative force" in the region, and sought support from among Venezuela's neighbors to isolate Chávez diplomatically and economically.[citation needed] One notable instance occurred at the 2005 meeting of the Organization of American States. A U.S. resolution to add a mechanism to monitor the nature of American democracies was widely seen as an attempt at diplomatically isolating both Chávez and the Venezuelan government. The failure of the resolution was seen by analysts as politically significant, evidencing widespread support in Latin America for Chávez, his policies, and his views.[citation needed]
The U.S. also opposed and lobbied against numerous Venezuelan arms purchases made under Chávez. This includes a purchase of some 100,000 rifles from Russia, which Donald Rumsfeld implied would be passed on to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the purchase of aircraft from Brazil.[citation needed] The U.S. has also warned Israel to not carry through on a deal to upgrade Venezuela's aging fleet of F-16s, and has similarly pressured Spain.[citation needed] In August 2005, Chávez rescinded the rights of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents to operate in Venezuelan territory, territorial airspace, and territorial waters. While U.S. State Department officials stated that the DEA agents' presence was intended to stem cocaine traffic from Colombia, Chávez argued that there was reason to believe the DEA agents were gathering intelligence for a clandestine assassination targeting him, with the ultimate aim of ending the Bolivarian Revolution.[citation needed]
When a Marxist insurgency picked up speed in Colombia in the early 2000s, Chavez chose not to support the U.S. in its backing of the Colombian government. Instead, Chavez declared Venezuela to be neutral in the dispute, yet another action that irritated American officials and tensed up relations between the two nations. The border between Venezuela and Colombia was one of the most dangerous borders in Latin America at the time, because of Colombia's war spilling over to Venezuela.[34]
Chávez dared the U.S. on 14 March 2008 to put Venezuela on a list of countries accused of supporting terrorism, calling it one more attempt by Washington, D.C. to undermine him for political reasons.[35]
In May 2011, Venezuela was one of the few countries to condemn the killing of Osama Bin Laden.[36]
Personal disputes[edit]
Chávez's anti-U.S. rhetoric sometimes touched the personal: in response to the ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, Chávez called U.S. President George W. Bush a pendejo ("jerk" or "dumbass"); in a later speech, he made similar remarks regarding Condoleezza Rice. President Barack Obama called Chávez "a force that has interrupted progress in the region".[37] In a 2006 speech at the UN he referred to Bush as "the Devil" while speaking at the same podium the US president had used the previous day claiming that "it still smells of sulphur".[38] He later commented that Barack Obama "shared the same stench".[39]
During his weekly address Aló Presidente of 18 March 2006, Chávez responded to a US White House report which characterized him as a "demagogue who uses Venezuela's oil wealth to destabilize democracy in the region". During the address Chávez rhetorically called George W. Bush "a donkey." He repeated it several times adding "eres un cobarde ... eres un asesino, un genocida ... eres un borracho" (you are a coward ... you are an assassin, a mass-murderer ... you are a drunk).[40] Chávez said Bush was "a sick man" and "an alcoholic".[41]
Response to Pat Robertson assassination calls[edit]
After prominent US evangelical, Pat Robertson's on-air call for Chavez to be assassinated in August 2005, Robertson was condemned worldwide, particularly by the Chávez administration, who reported that it would more closely scrutinize and curtail foreign evangelical missionary activity in Venezuela. Chávez himself denounced Robertson's call as a harbinger of a coming U.S. intervention to remove him from office. Chávez reported that Robertson, member of the secretive and elite Council for National Policy (CNP) — of which George Bush, Grover Norquist, and other prominent neoconservative Bush administration insiders were also known members or associates — was, along with other CNP members,[citation needed] guilty of "international terrorism". Robertson subsequently apologized for his remarks, which were criticised by Ted Haggard of the U.S.-based National Association of Evangelicals. Haggard was concerned about the effects Roberson's remarks would have on US corporate and evangelical missionaries' interests in Venezuela.
Relations with Cuba and Iran[edit]
Chávez's warm friendship with former Cuban president Fidel Castro, in addition to Venezuela's significant and expanding economic, social, and aid relationships with Cuba, undermined the U.S. policy objective seeking to isolate the island. President Chávez consolidated diplomatic relations with Iran, including defending its right to civilian nuclear power.[42][43]
Organization of American States[edit]
At the 2005 meeting of the Organization of American States, a United States resolution to add a mechanism to monitor the nature of democracies was widely seen as a move to isolate Venezuela. The failure of the resolution was seen as politically significant, expressing Latin American support for Chávez.[44]
Hurricane Katrina[edit]
After Hurricane Katrina battered the United States' Gulf coast in late 2005, the Chávez administration offered aid to the region.[45] Chávez offered tons of food, water, and a million barrels of extra petroleum to the U.S. He has also proposed to sell, at a significant discount, as many as 66,000 barrels (10,500 m3) of fuel oil to poor communities that were hit by the hurricane and offered mobile hospital units, medical specialists, and electrical generators. According to activist Jesse Jackson,[46] the Bush administration declined the Venezuelan offer. However, United States Ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield welcomed the offer of fuel assistance to the region, calling it "a generous offer" and saying "when we are talking about one-to-five million dollars, that is real money. I want to recognize that and say, 'thank you.'"[47]
In November 2005, following negotiations by leading US politicians for the US' largest fuel distributors to offer discounts to the less well-off, officials in Massachusetts signed an agreement with Venezuela. The agreement aims to provide heating oil at a 40% discount to low-income families through Citgo, a subsidiary of PDVSA and the only company to respond to the politicians' request.[48] Chávez stated that such gestures comprise "a strong oil card to play on the geopolitical stage" and that "it is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States."[49]
U.S. Administrations[edit]
In September 2008, following retaliatory measures in support of Bolivia, Chavez expelled the U.S. ambassador Patrick Duddy. Chavez labeled Duddy persona non grata after accusing him of aiding a conspiracy against his government — a charge Duddy consequently denied.[50]
Despite allegedly waning of Hugo Chavez's aggressive foreign policy due to the sharp drop in oil in the last quarter of 2008, hostility with America continued. "American Corners," (AC) a partnership between the Public Affairs sections of U.S. Embassies worldwide and their host institutions, was said to be an interference in Venezuela. In their book, Imperial Spiderweb: Encyclopedia of Interference and Subversion, Eva Golinger and Frenchman, Riman Mingus, warned that it was one of Washington's secret forms of propaganda, Golinger denouncing AC to the Venezuelan National Assembly as virtual consulates, which are not formally sponsored by the US government, but by an organization, association, school, library or local institution. Additionally, they have not only functioned as a launch pad for a psychological war, but also sought to subvert and violate diplomatic rules. The AC's were alleged to be closely supervised by the State Department.[51] Golinger has been described by many[52][53][54][55][56] as pro-Chavez.
In January 2009, Chavez announced an investigation into the US Chargé d'Affairs, John Caulfield, who is the leading US diplomat after Duddy's expulsion. He contended that Caulfield had possibly met with opposition Venezuelans in exile in Puerto Rico; an official spokeswoman from the United States said Caulfield was there for a wedding. Chavez used the occasion to accuse "the empire" of using Puerto Rico as a base for actions against him and Latin America. He referred to Puerto Rico as a "gringo colony" and that one day the island would be liberated.[57]
Presidency of Barack Obama[edit]
During the 2008 U.S. election, Chávez declared that he had no preference between Barack Obama and John McCain stating "the two candidates for the US presidency attack us equally, they attack us defending the interests of the empire".[58] After Obama had won the election, Venezuela's foreign minister labeled the outcome a historic moment in international relations and added that the American people had chosen a "new brand" of diplomacy. When Chavez was asked if the previously expelled ambassadors for each country would return, he replied "everything has its time."[citation needed] However, at a rally the evening before the November 4 elections where Chávez was supporting his own candidates Chávez echoed a sentiment by Lula of Brazil and Morales of Bolivia, referencing the change happening in Latin America seemed to be taking place in the US. He expressed hope that he would meet with Obama as soon as possible.[50] However, on March 22, 2009, Chávez called Obama "ignorant" and claimed Obama "has the same stench as Bush", after the US accused Venezuela of supporting the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).[59] Chávez was offended after Obama said that he had "been a force that has interrupted progress in the region", resulting in his decision to put Venezuela's new ambassador to the United States on hold.[60]
During the Summit of the Americas on April 17, 2009, Chávez met with Obama for the first, and only, time where he expressed his wish to become Obama's friend.[61][62]
Chávez meets with Hillary Clinton on 1 January 2011, Brasília
On September 10, 2009, Chávez gave a speech at the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in Moscow declaring that "in all history, there was never a government more terrorist than that of the US empire. That's the greatest terrorists in the world history”, he added, referring to the U.S. "The Yankee empire will fall. It's already falling, and will disappear from the face of the Earth, and it's going to happen this century."[63]
On December 20, 2011, Chávez called Obama "A clown, an embarrassment, and a shame to Black People" after Obama criticized Venezuela’s ties with Iran and Cuba.[64]
Venezuela and the United States have not had ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2010.[65] Shortly before the 2012 US presidential elections, Chávez announced that if he could vote in the election, he would vote for Obama.[66] In 2013, before Hugo Chavez died, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro expelled two U.S. military attaches from the country, saying they were plotting against Venezuela by attempting to recruit Venezuelan military personnel to destabilize Venezuela and suggested they caused Chavez's cancer.[67] The Obama Administration rejected the allegations and responded by expelling two Venezuelan diplomats.[68]
Allegations of U.S. Involvement in Chavez' death[edit]
In December 2011, Chávez already under treatment for cancer and wondered out loud: “would it be so strange that they’ve invented the technology to spread cancer and we won’t know about it for 50 years?” The Venezuelan president was speaking one day after Argentina’s leftist president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, announced she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This was after three other prominent leftist Latin America leaders had been diagnosed with cancer: Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff; former Paraguayan president, Fernando Lugo, and the former Brazilian leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Guardian newspaper’s Venezuela expert, Rory Carroll, has glibly categorized serious charges that Venezuela’s late President Hugo Chavez Frias was assassinated by a United States-produced bio-weapon as being in the same league with "conspiracy theorists who wonder about aliens at Roswell and NASA faking the moon landings". A number of Venezuelan officials[69] believe a hostile party covertly introduced an aggressive form of cancer into the 58-year-old president.
Presidency of Nicolás Maduro[edit]
On October 1, 2013, the US ordered three Venezuelan diplomats out of the country in response to the Venezuelan government's decision to expel three US officials from Venezuela.[70]
On February 16, 2014, President Maduro announced he had ordered another three US consular officials to leave the country, accusing them of conspiring against the government and aiding opposition protests. Maduro described the US statements that claimed to be concerned with rising tensions and protests and warned against Venezuela's possible arrest of the country's opposition leader as "unacceptable" and "insolent." He said, "I don't take orders from anyone in the world."[71] On February 25, 2014, the United States responded by expelling three additional Venezuelan diplomats from the country.[72]
On May 28, 2014, the United States House of Representatives passed the Venezuelan Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act (H.R. 4587; 113th Congress), a bill that would apply economic sanctions against Venezuelan officials who were involved in the mistreatment of protestors during the 2014 Venezuelan protests.[73]
In December 2014, the US Congress passed Senate 2142 (the “Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014”).[74]
On March 9, 2015, the United States President, Barack Obama, signed and issued a presidential order declaring Venezuela a "threat to its national security" and ordered sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced the sanctions as an attempt to topple his socialist government. Washington said that the sanctions targeted individuals who were involved in the violation of Venezuelans' human rights, saying that "we are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government's efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents".[75]
The move was denounced by other Latin American countries. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States issued a statement criticizing Washington’s “unilateral coercive measures against International Law.”[76] The Secretary-General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), Ernesto Samper, said that the body rejects “any attempt at internal or external interference that attempts to disrupt the democratic process in Venezuela.”[77]
Following the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, the Venezuelan government gifted $500,000 toward Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2017.[78] On April 20, 2017, however, the Venezuelan Government seized the General Motors Plant in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, causing the plant to close operations.[79]
On August 11, 2017, President Trump said that he is “not going to rule out a military option” to confront the autocratic government of Nicolás Maduro and the deepening crisis in Venezuela.[80] Venezuela’s Defense Minister, Vladimir Padrino López, immediately criticized Trump for his statement, calling it “an act of supreme extremism” and “an act of madness”. The Venezuelan Communications Minister, Ernesto Villegas, said Trump’s words amounted to “an unprecedented threat to national sovereignty”.[81] President Maduro's son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, stated during the 5th Constituent Assembly of Venezuela session that if the United States were to attack Venezuela, "the rifles would arrive in New York, Mr. Trump, we would arrive and take the White House".[82]
United States–Venezuela views[edit]
United States[edit]
Despite the continually strained ties between the two governments, 82% of Venezuelans viewed the U.S. positively in 2002, though this view declined down to 62% in 2014 (per the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project).[83] The Gallup Global Leadership Report indicates that as of 2013, 35% of Venezuelans approve of United States' global leadership, and 35% disapprove.[84] The Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Survey by Pew Research Center found that 35% of the Venezuelan population views the United States unfavorable and 47% view it favorably.”[85]
SICOFAA[edit]
In 1960, the UNITAS naval exercises and in-port training involving several countries in North, South and Central America were conducted for the first time in Venezuelan territorial waters in support of the Cold War U.S. policy. Venezuela is an active member of SICOFAA.
See also[edit]
United States portal
Venezuela portal
United States and South and Central America
United States – Venezuela Maritime Boundary Treaty
Latin America–United States relations
Venezuelan American
Notes[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/10112
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Jump up ^ BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/1985670.stm 'Warning to Venezuelan leader'. Retrieved 22 September 2007
Jump up ^ Rory, Carroll (2014). Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Penguin Books: New York. pp. 82–83. ISBN 0143124889.
Jump up ^ "Venezuela expels 3 American Diplomats over Violence Conspiracy". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
Jump up ^ Hendrickson, Embrert (August 1970). "Roosevelt's Second Venezuelan Controversy". The Hispanic American Historical Review. 50 (3): 482–498. doi:10.2307/2512193. See p. 483.
Jump up ^ Turner, Lous (1976). "The Oil Majors in World Poilitics". International Affairs. 52 (3): 368–380.
Jump up ^ Szulc, Tad (1959). Twilight of Tyrants. New York.
Jump up ^ Rother, larry (22 September 2001). "Marcos Perez Jimenez, 87, Venezuela Ruler". New York Times.
Jump up ^ Ray, Mark Weisbrot, Luis Sandoval, Rebecca. "The Chávez Administration at 10 Years: The Economy and Social Indicators".
Jump up ^ – Chavez's tour of OPEC nations arrives in Baghdad. CNN.com. 10 August 2000
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Jump up ^ Rory, Carroll, (2014). Comandante : Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Penguin Books: New York. pp. 44–46. ISBN 0143124889.
^ Jump up to: a b https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/03/washington/world/documents-show-cia-knew-of-a-coup-plot-in-venezuela.html?mcubz=1
Jump up ^ Campbell, Duncan (29 April 2006). "American navy 'helped Venezuelan coup'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
Jump up ^ "US investigates Venezuela coup role". BBC News. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
Jump up ^ "Venezuela's Chavez Says United States Must Explain Reaction To Coup". Associated Press. 10 May 2002. Archived from the original on 21 June 2006.
^ Jump up to: a b U.S. Embassy, Caracas, Venezuela. State Dept. Issues Report on U.S. Actions During Venezuelan Coup: (Inspector General finds U.S. officials acted properly during coup). Archived 6 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
Jump up ^ U.S. Department of State and Office of Inspector General. A Review of U.S. Policy toward Venezuela, November 2001 – April 2002. Archived 23 April 2003 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved 26 May 2006.
^ Jump up to: a b Márquez Humberto. (IPS 9 March 2006) "Statements Indicate Chávez May Indeed Be in Somebody's Crosshairs". Archived 13 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
Jump up ^ CIA Documents Show Bush Knew of 2002 Coup in Venezuela. Archived 14 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine.. Democracy Now, 29 November 2004. Retrieved 15 August 2006.
Jump up ^ Chavez promotes expelled diplomat BBC NEWS
Jump up ^ "Transcript: Hugo Chavez Interview". ABC News. 16 September 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
Jump up ^ ""'Plan Balboa' Not a U.S. Plan To Invade Venezuela"".
Jump up ^ Chavez says US plans to kill him. BBC News (21 February 2005). Retrieved 1 July 2006.
Jump up ^ Sullivan, Mark P. (1 August 2008) "Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy", page 35. United States Congressional Research Service
Jump up ^ "Synergy with the Devil", James Surowiecki, The New Yorker, 8 January 2006.
Jump up ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/12/world/americas/12bolivia.html?mcubz=1
Jump up ^ "For Venezuela, as Distaste for U.S. Grows, So Does Trade" New York Times
Jump up ^ Sullivan, Mark P. (1 August 2008) "Venezuela: Political Conditions and U.S. Policy" United States Congressional Research Service, page 1, 37
Jump up ^ Chavez tells UN Bush is 'devil', BBC
Jump up ^ Chavez's tour of OPEC nations arrives in Baghdad, Venezuelan president first head of state to visit Hussein in 10 years. CNN (10 August 2000). Retrieved 1 July 2006.
Jump up ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/30/AR2006093001317.html
Jump up ^ Encarnación, Omar (2002). "Venezuela's "Civil Society Coup"". World Policy Journal. JSTOR 40209803.
Jump up ^ Venezuela dares U.S. to put it on terror list CNN (14 March 2008). Retrieved 14 March 2008.
Jump up ^ Venezuela VP slams bin Laden ‘murder’, Washington Times. 2 May 2011. "It surprises me to no end how natural crime and murder has become, how it is celebrated. At least before, imperialist governments were more subtle. Now the death of anyone, based on what they are accused of, but not only those working outside of the law like bin Laden, but also presidents, the families of presidents, are openly celebrated by the leaders of the nations that bomb them."
Jump up ^ Staff Writer. "Article 106 of the constitution is clear". Stabroek News. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Chavez tells UN Bush is 'devil'". BBC News. 20 September 2006.
Jump up ^ Forero, Juan (19 January 2009). "Obama and Chávez Start Sparring Early". The Washington Post.
Jump up ^ Telegraph. Bush a donkey and drunkard, says Chavez.. Retrieved 23 May 2006.
Jump up ^ "Chavez Boosts Heating Oil Program for U.S. Poor; Goes After Bush Again", Washington Post
Jump up ^ http://www.denverlawreview.org/dlr-onlinearticle/2016/4/16/the-time-has-come-the-united-states-cuba-and-the-end-of-the.html
Jump up ^ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-venezuela-promise-new-world-order/
Jump up ^ Brinkley, Joel (6 June 2005). "Latin Nations Resist Plan for Monitor of Democracy". New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
Jump up ^ USA Today: Venezuela's Chavez offers hurricane aid. September 1, 2005.
Jump up ^ (6 September 2005). "Bush rejects Chávez aid". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
Jump up ^ Voice of America: US Ambassador: Venezuelan Post-Katrina Aid Welcome. Accessed 13 March 2014.
Jump up ^ BBC News. (23 November 2005). "Venezuela gives US cheap oil deal". Retrieved 23 November 2005.
Jump up ^ Blum, Justin (22 November 2005). "Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 November 2005.
^ Jump up to: a b "Breaking News, World News & Multimedia".
Jump up ^ "Venezuela Condemns US Interference". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
Jump up ^ Romero, Simon, (26 October 2009). "Michael Moore Irks Supporters of Chávez". New York Times
Jump up ^ Golinger, Eva (10 January 2010). Eva Golinger Describes Curacao as the Third Frontier of the United States. Salem-News.com. Retrieved 22 February 2010
Jump up ^ Bogardus, Keven (22 September 2004). Venezuela Head Polishes Image With Oil Dollars: President Hugo Chavez takes his case to America's streets. Center for Public Integrity. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
Jump up ^ Jones, Bart (2 April 2004). "U.S. funds aid Chavez opposition: National Endowment for Democracy at center of dispute in Venezuela". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
Jump up ^ Forero, Juan (3 December 2004). "Documents Show C.I.A. Knew of a Coup Plot in Venezuela". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2010.
Jump up ^ http://www.elnuevodia.com/diario/noticia/mundiales/noticias/chavez:_puerto_rico_es_colonia_gringa_todavia/516443
Jump up ^ Tran, Mark (17 July 2008). "Obama no different to McCain, says Chavez". The Guardian. London.
Jump up ^ Forero, Juan (19 January 2009). "Obama and Chávez Start Sparring Early". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
Jump up ^ http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237727509556&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Jump up ^ "Obama Says U.S. Will Pursue Thaw With Cuba". The New York Times. 18 April 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
Jump up ^ "Obama: 'We can move U.S.-Cuban relations in a new direction'". CNN. 17 April 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
Jump up ^ http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-09-10/chavez-russia-emotional-speech.html
Jump up ^ "Chavez: Obama's a 'clown' president". POLITICO. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
Jump up ^ "Venezuela to investigate Chavez murder allegations". BBC News. 12 March 2013.
Jump up ^ Cline, Seth (1 October 2012). "Hugo Chavez Says He Would Vote for Obama". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
Jump up ^ Ezequiel Minaya; David Luhnow (5 March 2013). "Venezuela Takes Page From Cuban Playbook". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
"Venezuela expels two U.S. military attachesdenouncing U.S. conspiratorial plan". Xinhua. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
Karen DeYoung (11 March 2013). "U.S. seeks better relations with Venezuela, but says they may not come soon". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
Jump up ^ "Obama, US lawmakers see 'new chapter' in Venezuela after Chavez's death". Fox News. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013. Vice President Nicolas Maduro claimed “historical enemies” of Venezuela were behind Chavez’s cancer diagnosis. The Venezuelan government also expelled two U.S. diplomats from the country – accusing them of spying.
The State Department rejected the allegations and suggested it did not bode well for the future of U.S.-Venezuela ties.
William Neuman (11 March 2013). "U.S. Expels 2 Venezuela Envoys". New York Times. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
"Venezuela diplomats expelled by US in tit-for-tat row". BBC News. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
Bradley Klapper (11 March 2013). "In retaliation, U.S. boots Venezuelan diplomats". Army Times. Associated Pres. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
Jump up ^ "Venezuela says embalming of Chavez' body 'unlikely'". bbc.co.uk/news. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
Jump up ^ "Venezuelan diplomats expelled by U.S. in retaliation". USA Today. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
Jump up ^ "Expulsion of three US envoys ordered by Venezuela". Venezuela Star. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
Jump up ^ "U.S. expelling 3 Venezuelan diplomats". USA Today. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
Jump up ^ Marcos, Cristina (28 May 2014). "House passes Venezuela sanctions bill". The Hill. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
Jump up ^ Jonathan C. Poling, Akin Gump, http://www.akingump.com/en/news-insights/obama-to-sign-venezuela-sanctions-bill.html
Jump up ^ "U.S. declares Venezuela a national security threat, sanctions top officials". Reuters. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
Jump up ^ Aditya Tejas (13 March 2015). "Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro Granted Special Powers Designed To Counter 'Imperialism'". ibtimes. International Business Times. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
Jump up ^ "'Undemocratic, interventionist': Bolivia lashes out at Obama for Venezuela sanctions". RT. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
Jump up ^ Campoy, Ana (19 April 2017). "Venezuela, where people are starving, gave Trump half a million dollars for his inauguration". Quartz. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
Jump up ^ https://www.facebook.com/nmiroff. "Venezuela seizes a General Motors plant amid anti-government protests". Washington Post.
Jump up ^ "Trump won't 'rule out a military option' in Venezuela". The Washington Post. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
Jump up ^ "Trump's Threat to Invade Venezuela Boosts Embattled Leader Maduro". Slate. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
Jump up ^ Uzcátegui, Ruth (12 August 2017). "Nicolás Maduro Guerra sobre intervención de Trump: Llegaríamos a tomar la Casa Blanca". Diario Panorama (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 August 2017.
Jump up ^ Favorable Opinion of the United States Pew Research Center
Jump up ^ "U.S. Global Leadership Report". Report. Gallup. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
Jump up ^ http://www.pewglobal.org/2017/06/26/u-s-image-suffers-as-publics-around-world-question-trumps-leadership/pg_2017-06-26-us_image-01-0/
Further reading[edit]
Ewell, Judith. Venezuela and the United States: From Monroe's Hemisphere to Petroleum's Empire (University of Georgia Press, 1996)
External links[edit]
History of Venezuela – U.S. relations
U.S. Arms Sales to Venezuela from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
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Air gun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Air gun (disambiguation).
An air gun (or airgun) is any kind of gun that launches projectiles pneumatically with compressed air or other gases that are pressurized mechanically without involving any chemical reactions, in contrast to a firearm, which relies on an exothermic chemical oxidation (deflagration) of combustible propellants to generate propulsive energy. Both the long gun and handgun forms (air rifle and air pistol) typically propel metallic projectiles, that are either diabolo-shaped pellets, or spherical shots called BBs. Certain types of air guns (usually rifles) may also propel darts or arrows.
The first air guns were developed as early as the 1500s. They have been used in hunting, sporting and warfare. Modern air guns use one of three types of power source depending on the design: spring-piston, pneumatic, and bottled compressed gas (most commonly carbon dioxide).
Contents
[hide]
1 History
2 Use
3 Powerplant
3.1 Spring-piston
3.1.1 Gas spring
3.2 Pneumatic
3.2.1 Pump pneumatic
3.2.2 Pre-charged pneumatic
3.3 CO2
4 Ammunition
4.1 Pellet
4.2 BB
4.3 Darts and arrows
5 Calibers
6 Legislation
7 Safety and misuse
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
History[edit]
Kunitomo air gun developed by the Japanese inventor Kunitomo Ikkansai, circa 1820–1830
Air guns represent the oldest pneumatic technology. The oldest existing mechanical air gun, a bellows air gun dating back to about 1580, is in the Livrustkammaren Museum in Stockholm. This is the time most historians recognize as the beginning of the modern air gun.
Throughout 17th to 19th century, air guns in calibers .30–.51, were used to hunt big-game deer and wild boar. These air rifles were charged using a pump to fill an air reservoir and gave velocities from 650 to 1,000 feet per second (200–300 m/s). They were also used in warfare, the most recognized example being the Girandoni air rifle.
At that time, they had compelling advantages over the primitive firearms of the day. For example, air guns could be discharged in wet weather and rain (unlike both matchlock and flintlock muskets), and discharged much faster than muzzle-loading guns.[1] Moreover, they were quieter than a firearm of similar caliber, had no muzzle flash, and were smokeless. Thus, they did not disclose the shooter's position or obscure the shooter's view, unlike the black powder muskets of the 18th and 19th centuries.
In the hands of skilled soldiers, they gave the military a distinct advantage. France, Austria and other nations had special sniper detachments using air rifles. The Austrian 1770 model was named Windbüchse (literally "wind rifle" in German). The gun was developed in 1768 or 1769[2] by the Tyrolean watchmaker, mechanic and gunsmith Bartholomäus Girandoni (1744–1799) and is sometimes referred to as the Girandoni air rifle or Girandoni air gun in literature (the name is also spelled "Girandony," "Giradoni"[3] or "Girardoni".[4]) The Windbüchse was about 4 ft (1.2 m) long and weighed 10 pounds (4.5 kg), about the same size and mass as a conventional musket. The air reservoir was a removable, club-shaped, butt. The Windbüchse carried twenty-two .51 caliber (13 mm) lead balls in a tubular magazine. A skilled shooter could fire off one magazine in about thirty seconds. A shot from this air gun could penetrate an inch thick wooden board at a hundred paces, an effect roughly equal to that of a modern 9×19mm or .45 ACP caliber pistol.
Circa 1820, the Japanese inventor Kunitomo Ikkansai developed various manufacturing methods for guns, and also created an air gun based on the study of Western knowledge ("rangaku") acquired from the Dutch in Dejima.
Kunitomo air gun trigger mechanism
The celebrated Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804) carried a reservoir air gun. It held 22 .46 caliber round balls in a tubular magazine mounted on the side of the barrel. The butt served as the air reservoir and had a working pressure of 800 psi (55 bar). The rifle was said to be capable of 22 aimed shots per minute and had a rifled bore of 0.452 in (11.5 mm) and a groove diameter 0.462 in (11.7 mm).
One of the first commercially successful and mass-produced air guns was manufactured by the William F. Markham's Markham Air Rifle Company in Plymouth, Michigan. Their first model air gun was the wooden Challenger and marketed in 1886. In response, Clarence Hamilton from the neighboring Plymouth Air Rifle Company (later renamed to Daisy Manufacturing Company in 1895) marketed their all-metal Daisy BB Gun in early 1888, which prompted Markham to respond with their Chicago model in 1888 followed by the King model in 1890. The Chicago model was sold by Sears, Roebuck for 73 cents in its catalog. In 1928 the name of the Markham company was changed to King Air Rifle Company after the company was purchased by Daisy in 1916 after decades of intense competition,[5] and continued to manufacture the "King" model air rifle until 1935 before ceasing operation all together in the 1940s.
During the 1890s, air rifles were used in Birmingham, England, for competitive target shooting. Matches were held in public houses, which sponsored shooting teams. Prizes, such as a leg of mutton for the winning team, were paid for by the losing team. The sport became so popular that in 1899, the National Smallbore Rifle Association was created. During this time over 4,000 air rifle clubs and associations existed across Great Britain, many of them in Birmingham. During this time, the air gun was associated with poaching because it could deliver a shot without a significant report.
In terms of power modern air guns are capable of delivering high levels of energy, the recently showcased Umarex Hammer fires a .50 caliber air bullet delivering over 700 ft lbs of energy (950 Joules).
Use[edit]
Air guns are used for hunting, pest control, recreational shooting (commonly known as plinking), and competitive sports, such as the Olympic 10 m Air Rifle and 10 m Air Pistol events. Field Target (FT) is a competitive form of target shooting in which the targets are knock-down metal silhouettes of animals, with a 'kill zone' cut out of the steel plate. Hunter Field Target (HFT) is a variation, using identical equipment, but with differing rules. The distances FT and HFT competitions are shot at range between 7.3 and 41.1 metres (24 and 135 ft) for HFT & 7.3 and 50.29 metres (24.0 and 165.0 ft)for FT, with varying sizes of 'reducers' being used to increase or decrease the size of the kill zone. In the UK, competition power limits are set at the legal maximum for an unlicensed air rifle, i.e. 12 ft⋅lbf (16 J).
Powerplant[edit]
The different methods of powering an air gun can be broadly divided into three groups: spring-piston, pneumatic, and compressed CO2. These methods are used in both air rifles and air pistols.[6]
Spring-piston[edit]
Spring-piston air guns (or simply "spring guns" or "springers") operate by means of a coil spring-loaded piston pump assembly contained within a compression chamber separate from the gun barrel. Before shooting, the user need to manually cock the gun by flexing a lever connected to the pump assembly. The cocking drives the pump piston backwards and compress the spring until its rear engages the sear. The act of pulling the trigger disengages the sear, allows the spring to decompress and release the elastic potential energy stored within it, and pushes the piston forward thereby compressing the air in the pump cylinder. Because the pump outlet (located to the front of the pump) is directly behind the pellet sitting in the barrel chamber, once the air pressure has risen enough to overcome any static friction and/or barrel restriction holding back the pellet, the pellet is propelled forward by an expanding column of pressurized air. All this takes place in a fraction of a second, during which the air undergoes adiabatic heating to several hundred degrees and then cools as the air expands. This can also cause a phenomenon referred as "dieseling", where flammable substances in the compression chamber (e.g. petroleum-based lubricant) can be ignited by the compression heat like in a diesel engine, and lead to an afterburner effect with (often unpredictable) additional thrusts, as well as combustion smoke coming out of the muzzle upon firing. Most spring-piston guns are single-shot breechloaders by nature, but multiple-shot repeaters with magazine feeders have become more common in recent years.
Spring-piston guns are able to achieve muzzle velocities near or greater than the speed of sound. The effort required for the cocking stroke is usually related to the designed power of the gun, with higher muzzle velocities requiring a stiffer spring and hence a greater cocking effort. Spring-piston guns have a practical upper limit of 1,250 ft/s (380 m/s) for .177 cal (4.5 mm) pellets, as higher velocities cause unstable pellet flight and loss of accuracy. This is due to the extreme buffeting caused when the pellet reaches and surpasses transonic speed, then slows back down and goes through sound barrier again, which is more than enough to destabilize the pellet's flight. Shortly after leaving the barrel, the supersonic pellet falls back below the speed of sound and the shock wave overtakes the pellet, causing its flight stability to be disrupted. Drag increases rapidly as pellets are pushed past the speed of sound, so it is generally better to increase pellet weight to keep velocities subsonic in high-powered guns. Sonic crack from the pellet as it moves with supersonic speed also makes the shot louder sometimes making it possible to be mistaken for firearm discharge. Many shooters have found that velocities in the 800–900 ft/s (240–270 m/s) range offer an ideal balance between power and pellet stability.
Spring guns are typically cocked by one of the following mechanisms:
Break-barrel — like a break action firearm, the barrel is hinged at the junction with the receiver and can be flexed downwards to expose the breech and also serve as a cocking lever itself
Underlever — the barrel is fixed to the receiver, with the cocking lever located parallel underneath it and is flexed downwards during cocking
Sidelever — the barrel is fixed to the receiver, and the cocking lever is located to the side (usually the right side) of the receiver and is cocked sideways
Overlever — the cocking lever is flexed upwards above the barrel during cocking, seen in some air pistols
Motorized cocking powered by a rechargeable battery
Spring-piston guns, especially high-powered ("magnum") models, do still recoil as a result of the forward motion of the piston. Although the recoil is less than that of some cartridge firearms, it can make the gun difficult to shoot accurately as the recoil forces are in effect whilst the pellet is still within the barrel. Spring gun recoil also has a sharp forward component, caused by the piston hitting the front end of the pump chamber when the spring has fully decompressed. These two rapid jerking movements are known to damage scopes not rated for spring gun usage. In addition, the spring vibrations are often unpredictable and can also cause accuracy to suffer. These vibrations can be controlled by adding features like close-fitting spring guides or by aftermarket tuning done by "airgunsmiths" who specialize in air gun modifications, a common one being the addition of viscous silicone grease to the spring, which both lubricates it and dampens vibration. Some shooters also often hold the gun in a very loose grip (the "artillery hold" as coined by famous American airgunner Tom Gaylord) that allows the gun to vibrate in a natural and consistent manner. There are also newer models with a floating receiver design that allows the action to slide over the stock autonomously, thus making the gun less hold-sensitive.
The better quality spring guns can have very long service lives, being simple to maintain and repair. Because they deliver the same mechanical energy output on each shot, the external ballistic is quite consistent. Most Olympic air gun competitions through the 1970s and into the 1980s were shot with spring-piston guns, often of the opposing-piston recoil-eliminating type. Beginning in the 1980s, guns powered by compressed/liquefied carbon dioxide began to dominate the competition. Today, the guns used at the highest levels of competition are powered by compressed air.
Gas spring[edit]
Some makes of air guns incorporate a gas spring (commonly referred to as a gas piston, gas ram, gas strut or nitro piston) instead of a mechanical coil spring. The spring itself is essentially a stand-alone enclosed piston pump without outlet and with pressurized air or inert gas (such as nitrogen) held tightly sealed within the cylinder. When the gun is cocked, the gas inside the cylinder gets further compressed by the piston, stores potential energy and acts in effect as a pneumatic accumulator. Gas spring units require higher precision to manufacture, since they require a low-friction sliding seal that can withstand the high pressures when cocked. The advantages of the gas spring include the ability to keep the gun cocked and ready to fire for extended periods of time without long-term spring fatigue, smoother recoil pattern and lower vibration, and faster "lock time" (the time between pulling the trigger and the pellet being discharged) which results in better accuracy. Gas spring air guns are also usually less "hold-sensitive" and hence easier to achieve consistent shot groupings.
Pneumatic[edit]
The Walther LGR single-stroke pneumatic match air rifle
An example of a Benelli Kite pre-charged pneumatic air pistol, as used in 10 metre air pistol ISSF shooting events
Pneumatic air guns propel the projectiles by utilizing the pneumatic potential energy within compressed air, which is pressurized beforehand and stored inside the gun, and then released through valves during shooting. Single-stroke and multi-stroke pump guns utilize an on-board pump to pressurize air in an internal reservoir, while pre-charged pneumatic guns' reservoirs are filled from an external source using either a high-pressure hand pump or by decanting air from a diving cylinder.
Pump pneumatic[edit]
Pump pneumatc air guns, or pump guns, use a lever-operated onboard air pump to pressurize an internal reservoir, which then discharge the stored compressed air during shooting. Depend on the design, pump guns can be either single-stroke or mult-stroke.
In single-stroke pneumatic air guns, a single motion of the cocking lever is all that is required to mechanically compress the air. The single-pump system has always dominated the casual plinking market, and is usually found in target rifles and pistols, where the higher muzzle energy of a multi-stroke pumping system is not required. Single-stroke pneumatic rifles dominated the national and international ISSF 10 metre air rifle shooting events from the 1970s up to the 1990s.
Multi-stroke pneumatic air guns use multiple pumpings to achieve variable power levels in order to adapt for both long or short-range shooting. This air gun are usually single-shot, which each shot requires approximately 5 strokes. However, up to five shots are possible, usually requiring around 10 to 20 strokes as long as the air reservoir is enough to store higher pressure. For safety reasons, most multi-stroke guns are usually designed to have its pump lever jammed when the reservoir has reached its maximum pressure limit, which the user can no longer pump the gun until it's discharged. The maximum pressure limit for the reservoir is approximately 20 to 30 strokes.
Pre-charged pneumatic[edit]
Airforce Condor, one of the most powerful PCP air rifles on the market
Pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air guns have their internal reservoir pre-filled from an external air source (such as a diving cylinder, or by charging with a hand pump), and remains pressurized until depleted after repeated shooting. During shooting, the hammer strikes the reservior's release valve, allowing a set volume of the pressurized air to be discharged into the chamber and propel the projectile. Depending on the release valve design, PCP air guns can be categorized into two types — unregulated and regulated (which has either a mechanical or electronic regulator valve). Because of the need for cylinders or charging systems, PCP guns have higher initial costs but much lower operating costs when compared to CO2 or ordinary pump guns. Having no significant movement of heavy mechanical parts during the firing cycle, PCP airgun designs produce lower recoil, and can fire as many as 100 shots per charge.
The ready supply of air has allowed the development of semi- and fully automatic air guns.[7] PCP guns are very popular in the UK and Europe because of their accuracy and ease of use. They are widely utilized in ISSF 10 metre air pistol and rifle shooting events, the sport of Field Target shooting,[8] and are usually fitted with telescopic sights.
Early hand-pump designs encountered problems of fatigue (both human and mechanical), temperature warping, and condensation—none of which are beneficial to accurate shooting or air gun longevity. Modern hand pumps have built-in air filtration systems and have overcome many of these problems. Using scuba-quality air decanted from a scuba cylinder provides consistently clean, dry, high-pressure air.
During the typical PCP's discharge cycle, the hammer of the rifle is released by the sear to strike the bash valve. The hammer may move rearwards or forwards, unlike firearms where the hammer almost always moves forward. The valve is held closed by a spring and the pressure of the air in the reservoir (which is also known as the working pressure). The pressure of the spring is constant, and the pressure of the air decreases with each successive shot. As a result, when the reservoir pressure is at its peak, the valve opens less fully and closes faster than when the reservoir pressure is lower, resulting in a similar total volume of air flowing past the valve with each shot. This results in a degree of self-regulation that gives a greater consistency of velocity from shot to shot. A well-designed PCP will display good shot to shot consistency as the air reservoir is depleted.
Other PCP rifles and pistols are regulated, i.e. the firing valve operates within a secondary chamber separated from the main air reservoir by the regulator body. The regulator maintains the pressure within this secondary chamber at a set pressure (lower than the main reservoir's) until the main reservoir's pressure drops to the point where it can no longer do so. As a result, shot to shot consistency is maintained for longer than in an unregulated rifle.
CO2[edit]
CO2 pistol and disposable Powerlet cylinders
Originally called CG guns (compressed gas guns),[9] air guns utilizing prefilled removable gas cylinders as power source have now become known as CO2 guns due to the ubiquitous commercial use of bottled carbon dioxide gas. Most CO2 guns use a disposable cylinder called a "Powerlet", that is often purchased with 12 grams (0.42 oz) of pressurized CO2 gas, although some, usually more expensive models, use larger refillable CO2 reservoirs like those typically used with paintball markers.
CO2 guns, like other pneumatic guns using compressed air, offer power for repeated shots in a compact package without the need for complex cocking or filling mechanisms. The ability to store power for repeated shots also means that repeating arms are possible. There are many replica revolvers and semi-automatic pistols on the market that use CO2 power. These guns are popular for training, as the guns and ammunition are inexpensive, relatively safe to use, and no specialized facilities are needed for safety. In addition, they can be purchased and owned in areas where firearms possession is either strictly controlled or banned outright. Most CO2 powered guns are relatively inexpensive, and there are a few precision target guns available that use CO2.
Ammunition[edit]
Pellet[edit]
Main article: Pellet (air gun)
A .177 (4.5mm) caliber "Wadcutter" pellet next to a stick of chewing gum
The most popular ammunition used in rifled air guns is the wasp-waisted diabolo pellet, which has two sections — a solid front portion called the "head", which contains the center of mass and is available in a variety of shapes and styles such as flat (wadcutter), round (domed), cone-shaped (pointed) and pitted (hollow point); and a hollowed, thin-walled rear portion called the "skirt", which expands and fully engages the bore to provide a good seal, thus allows maximal efficiency in pellet propulsion during shooting. In flight, the skirt has greater drag-to-weight ratio than the head, and provides drag-stabilization similar to that of a shuttlecock. This shape design also means that the overall pellet will have poor ballistic coefficient and tends to be more unstable than some other projectile shapes, especially in the transonic region (272–408 m/s ~ 893–1340 ft/s). Diabolo pellets are traditionally made from lead, but can also be manufactured from tin, or a combination of materials such as steel or gold alloys with polymer tips.
Some manufacturers also have recently introduced the more cylindrical-shaped "slug" pellets for the more powerful modern PCP air rifles. Compared to the commonly used diabolo pellets, these slugs have more contact surface with the bore and hence needs greater force to overcome friction, but have better aerodynamics and longer effective ranges due to the more similar shape to firearm bullets, however also require a fully rifled barrel for spin stabilization in flight.
BB[edit]
Steel BBs coated with copper and nickel
Main article: BB gun
The BB was once the most common airgun ammunition in the USA, thanks to the popularity of Daisy’s line of BB airguns. A BB is a small metallic ball, typically made of steel (with a copper or zinc coating) or lead, in 4.5 mm/.177" diameter. Originally called the “round shot”, the contemporary name came from the “BB”- size lead birdshot used in shotguns, which the first BB gun invented in 1886 was designed to shoot. Steel BBs can be acceptably accurate at short distances when fired from properly designed BB guns with smoothbore barrels. Lead number 3 buckshot pellets can be used in .25" caliber airguns as if they were large BBs.
Due to the hardness of the steel, they can not "take" to rifled barrels, which is why they are undersized (4.4 against 4.5 mm) to allow them to be used in .177" rifled barrels, which when used in this configuration can in effect be considered smoothbore, but with a poorer gas-seal. Were they 4.5 mm diameter, they would jam in the bore. Therefore, BB's lack the spin stabilization required for long-range accuracy, and usage in any but the cheapest rifled guns is discouraged.
Typically BBs are used for indoor practice, casual outdoor plinking, training children, or for air gun enthusiasts who like to practice, but cannot afford high-powered air gun systems that use pellets. Some shotgunners use sightless BB rifles to train in instinctive shooting. Similar guns were also used briefly by the United States Army in a Vietnam-era instinctive shooting program called "Quick Kill".[10]
Darts and arrows[edit]
In the 18th and 19th centuries air gun darts were popular, largely because they could be reused. Although less popular now, several different types of darts are made to be used in air guns. But it is not recommended that darts be used in air guns with rifled bores or in spring-powered air guns.[11] Air guns that shoot darts are sometimes called dart guns, and tranquilizer guns if the darts used are loaded with anesthetic (tranquilizer) compounds.
Some modern air guns are designed to discharge arrows and are called arrow guns or sometimes airbows. These arrows are designed with a hollow shaft that is open in the rear where the nock would normally be. When loaded, the hollow arrow shaft is slid rearwards over a barrel whose external diameter is only fractionally smaller than the shaft's interior diameter, providing a close enough fitting that minimizes rattling and gives reasonable enveloping seal without causing too much friction. During shooting, the trigger releases high-pressure air from the barrel to the front portion of the hollow arrow shaft, pushing the arrow forward. Such air guns can shoot arrows at launch velocities rivalling or even exceeding high-end crossbows, while retaining consistency of precision unaffected by archer's paradox, but they are also more expensive to setup and maintain.
Calibers[edit]
The most common air gun calibers are
.177 (4.5 mm): the most common caliber. Mandated by the ISSF for use in international target shooting competition at 10m, up to Olympic level in both rifle and pistol events. It has also been adopted by most National Governing Bodies for domestic use in similar target shooting events. It has the flattest trajectory of all the calibers for a given energy level, making accuracy simpler. At suitable energy levels it can be used effectively for hunting.
.22 (5.5 mm & 5.6 mm): for hunting and general use. In recent years air rifles and pistols in .22" (and some other calibers) have been allowed for use in both domestic and international target shooting in events not controlled by the ISSF. Most notably in FT/HFT and Smallbore Benchrest competitions. These events often allow the use of any caliber air gun, up to a maximum which is often .22", rather than a fixed caliber.
Other less common traditional calibers include:
.20 (5 mm): initially proprietary to the Sheridan multi-pump pneumatic air rifle, later more widely used.
.25 (6.35 mm): the largest commonly available caliber for most of the 20th century.
Larger caliber air rifles suitable for hunting large animals are offered by major manufacturers. These are usually PCP guns. The major calibers available are:
.357
.45 (11.43 mm)
.50 (12.7 mm)
.58 (14.5 mm)
Custom air guns are available in even larger calibers such as 20 mm (0.79") or .87 (22.1 mm).
Legislation[edit]
Main article: Air gun laws
While in some countries air guns are not subject to any specific regulation, in most there are laws, which differ widely. Each jurisdiction has its own definition of an air gun; and regulations may vary for weapons of different bore, muzzle energy or velocity, or material of ammunition, with guns designed to fire metal pellets often more tightly controlled than airsoft weapons. There may be minimum ages for possession, and sales of both air guns and ammunition may be restricted. Some areas require permits and background checks similar to those required for proper firearms.
Safety and misuse[edit]
While historical air guns have been made specifically for warfare, modern air guns can also be deadly.[12] In medical literature, modern air guns have been noted as a cause of death.[13][14][15] This has been the case for guns of caliber .177 and .22 that are within the legal muzzle energy of air guns in the United Kingdom.[16]
See also[edit]
Blowgun
Marksmanship
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Schreier, Philip (October 2006). "The Airgun of Meriwether Lewis". American Rifleman. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
Jump up ^ Arne Hoff, Airguns and Other Pneumatic Arms, Arms & Armour Series, London, 1972
Jump up ^ L.Wesley, Air Guns and Air Pistols, London 1955
Jump up ^ H.L.Blackmore, Hunting Weapons, London 1971
Jump up ^ Laidlaw, Angus (January 2014). "Chicago Air Rifle Markham's Patent". American Rifleman. 162 (1): 48.
Jump up ^ Ben Saltzman. "The Three Basic Types of Airguns". American Airguns. Archived from the original on 15 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
Jump up ^ "Air Ordnance Full Auto Pellet Gun". Retrieved 28 November 2014.
Jump up ^ "American Airgun Field Target Association". Retrieved 28 November 2014.
Jump up ^ Tom Gaylord. "CO2 is used to power many air guns". PyramydAir. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
Jump up ^ Time magazine, Friday, July 14, 1967
Jump up ^ "Airgun projectiles". Retrieved 1 June 2017.
Jump up ^ "Crackdown on killer air rifles". NZPA. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
Jump up ^ Kuligod, FS; Jirli, PS; Kumar, P. "Air gun--a deadly toy?: A case report". Med Sci Law. 46: 177–80. PMID 16683474.
Jump up ^ Lawrence, HS. "Fatal nonpowder firearm wounds: case report and review of the literature". Pediatrics. 85: 177–81. PMID 2104975.
Jump up ^ "Air weapon injuries: a serious and persistent problem".
Jump up ^ Milroy, CM; Clark, JC; Carter, N; Rutty, G; Rooney, N (1998). "Air Weapon Fatalities" (PDF). J. Clin. Pathol. 51: 525–9. doi:10.1136/jcp.51.7.525. PMC 500806  . PMID 9797730.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air guns.
Tom Gaylord's History of Airguns
Authority control
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