Octavio Hoyos

Photographer

Weapons of narco.

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Location: Mexico City

Nationality: Mexican

Biography: Octavio Hoyos. Mexico City, 1974. Study journalism in the Universidad del Distrito Federal in Mexico City. Start in the photo agency Imagenlatina in the 2000. In 2003 join to the national newspaper Milenio as a staff photographer. Has been... read on

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1 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

"Only the dead have seen the end of the war" a legend in the gun grip.

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2 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold revolver.

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Filigree revolver.

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Gold gun grip with Mexican national Shield (Eagle eating a serpent).

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5 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold grip commemorating the Mexican independence.

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6 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grip with the religious image of Saint Jude Thaddeus, considered in Mexico for "difficult causes".

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7 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold and precious stones gun grip with the image of the Virgen of Guadalupe.

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Gold gun grip with precious stones and diamond trigger with the image of the "Holy death".

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9 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grip with diamonds with the logo of the designer Versace.

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10 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grip with diamonds with the logo of the watch label Rolex.

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11 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold details with an image of a ak47 and the name of the Mexican state "Sinaloa".

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12 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold weapon in memory of Mexican revolution leader "Pancho Villa".

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13 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold weapon in memory of Mexican revolution leader "Emiliano Zapata".

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14 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun with filigree and the religious image of Saint Jude Thaddeus, considered in Mexico for "difficult causes".

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15 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold grip commemorating the Mexican independence.

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16 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grip with diamonds and precious stones with the legend "The Masterpiece".

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17 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grip with the last name "Lascano", presumably owned by the drug dealer Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the "Los Zetas" organization who died in 2012. Until the day of his death, he was considered the second most wanted drug trafficker in Mexico after Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

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18 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grips with and justice eagle and the other with the image of the Mexican revolution leader "Pancho Villa".

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19 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold gun grips with precious stones and diamonds with the name "Héctor Sauceda", drug trafficker and high ranking leader of the Gulf Cartel in Tamaulipas. Sauceda dies in 2009.

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20 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Ak47 gun magazine made of gold.

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21 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Chinese drawings and motifs on the long gun allegedly owned by Flavio Méndez Santiago, known as "Comandante Amarillo"(Yellow commander); founder and leader of the crime organization "Los Zetas".

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22 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

A palm tree in a long gun magazine owned by Héctor Palma Salazar, aka "El Guero Palma". Palma founded the "Pacific cartel" with Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo. Arrested on 1995, he has served his sentence between U.S.A. and Mexico; his release is expected at the end of February of 2021. It is said that he is still in prison.

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23 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Gold and diamonds grips with the acronym "ACF", belonging to the name of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as "El señor de los cielos" (The lord of the skies"). His nickname was for his fleet of planes with which he transported drugs. He was partner of Pablo Escobar Gaviria and leader of the Juárez cartel.

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24 of 24 © 2021 Octavio Hoyos

Filigree in a long weapon grip made with gold.

Public Story

Weapons of narco.

Credits: octavio hoyos

Updated: 03/04/21

Archived as: Arrests and Prosecutions, Corruption, Crime, Documentary, Drug Abuse, Drugs, Editorial, Essays, Gangs, Guns, Illegal Trafficking, Kingpin, Latin America, Mexico, Narc, Photography, Photojournalism, Politics, Prison, Traffickers, War, Weapons

Flaunt power, thought and fear. The weapons of hitmen and drug traffickers in Mexico are a reflection of their ideology and lifestyle. Death linked to impunity provided by corruption in a country in suspense where money is the basic tool of survival.

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Tepango river.

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