PHOTOGRAPHY SMALL PRESS | 550BC

The original Favela Narco Pets zine was created as a Favela Máfia spin-off.  Because of the intensity of the book, the zine’s goal was to show a different, more comical side of the organized crime groups (OGCs) Comando Vermelho (CV) and Terceiro Comando Puro(TCP)on social media.  The OGCs are mainly known for drug and arms trafficking.  Still, the occasional wildlife trade is not uncommon in Brazil’s drug trade.  The CV and TCP members are primarily buyers of exotic animals.  They either obtain an exotic pet as a trophy or in the gang’s interest; the OGCs train some birds and monkeys to become lookouts and send warnings when the police are nearby.

In 2019 a lookout parrot was arrested by the Brazilian police for being a “papagaio do tráfico” (drug trafficking parrot).  In this sequel, you’ll find a black-tufted marmoset monkey mounting a GLOCK pistol, a yacare caiman on a leash, and more of the above-mentioned exotic animals posing with a variety of their owner’s guns.