MSNBC reporter says if Venezuelan military 'have the guns they have the power'

Kerry Sanders is an MSNBC contributor. (MSNBC)

A journalist reporting on the crisis in Venezuela Tuesday said the efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro are taking longer than expected in part because not everyone in the country is allowed to own guns.

“So if the military have the guns, they have the power,” MSNBC contributor Kerry Sanders told host Andrea Mitchell during her show, according to a report from Mediaite.

VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER PLEDGES ‘LARGEST MARCH’ IN COUNTRY’S HISTORY A DAY AFTER FIERCE PROTESTS

Sanders explained that as long as Maduro controls the military he controls the country.

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Private gun ownership was outlawed in Venezuela by former president Hugo Chavez in 2012, Mediaite reported.

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More than 100 Venezuelans were injured in violent protests with authorities Tuesday and opposition leader  Juan Guaidó has called for even larger demonstrations Wednesday to protest Maduro’s win in an election seen by the opposition as illegitimate.