The former Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations Diego Arria claims that "it is absurd to imagine that in a scenario of modern warfare any serious military officer could argue that they could defend their territory with these rifles (Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles Venezuela purchased from Moscow)" but warned that "attention should be paid to the final destination of the weapons, as well as of those to be replaced (old FAL)."

Meanwhile, Javier Corrales, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College, shares Arria's concern and wonders: "What will happen to the replaced and extra rifles? Venezuela is purchasing as many as 100,000 new rifles. But it only has 40,000 troops."
 
"The Venezuelan case brings to light a problem in the Inter-American security system: the lack of an acceptable protocol for handling weapons modernization," Corrales added.

The discussion came in a forum conducted by Latin American Advisor, an electronic public of Inter-American Dialogue, as disclosed in a press release of the group.

The forum was intended to discuss whether Venezuela's military purchases threaten stability in the region, as Washington claims, or are they part of Hugo Chávez' Government efforts to modernize its military.

Another guest was Venezuelan ambassador to the United States Bernardo Alvarez, who stressed that Chávez' Government only intends to modernize the National Armed Force (FAN).  "This plan does not threaten regional stability, as the (US President George W.) Bush administration has facetiously claimed. If anything, it seeks to promote stability along the Venezuelan-Colombian border and in the country's coastal waters by preventing traffickers and criminals from operating in and around Venezuela."