That's the way it works in all third world countries. Most all Latin American countries allow easy ownership of weapons. That is why the army is used as a national police force in those countries, and across the rest of the third world. They don't care if you got guns, some death squad is going to pop you when you step outside your front door, or the army is going to shell your town. In Guatemala, they were notorious for strafing civilians with surplus P-51 mustangs.

Communist countries on the other hand, were well known for gun confiscation.