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By Caleb McClain
After the capture of the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro, two of the charges brought against him by the U.S. were arms possession violations. These charges have caused many images to surface of him and various arms in his own collection, even though these guns have little to do with the charges. Notable guns featured in the photographs include an old Soviet PPSH-41 submachine gun gifted to him by Vladamir Putin and the most recent addition to his arsenal, a .50-caliber Chinese CS/LR 13 given to him in December of 2025 by the Venezuelan Military Academy. It has even been rumored that Maduro had a gold-plated MP5 stashed away somewhere, similar to the one recovered from Sadam Hussein’s palace in 2003.
But Maduro was far from the first gun-loving dictator of Venezuela, and the reason is simple: dictators use guns to represent power over those who don’t have them. In fact, long before Maduro, Simón Bolívar held the title of the title of Latin America’s best-armed leader.
There are few men more beloved in Latin America than Simón Bolívar, where he is known as El Libertador. Born into Spanish aristocracy in the New World, he spent most of his short adult life fighting the colonial government for freedom in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela, then subsequently ruling with an iron fist.
Unfortunately, very few of his guns survived, but we will explore the ones that did.
Perhaps the most iconic weapons associated with El Libertador were his pistol sets made by the gunsmith of Louis XVI and Napoleon, Nicolas Noël Boutet.
Bolívar’s first set of Boutet pistols was acquired during his vising to Paris in 1804 — the very trip that educated him on revolution. As expected of anything that came from Versailles at the time, these octagonal-barreled .47-caliber guns featured ornate designs and gold accents. In 1830, they were gifted to Bolívar’s financier Richard Illingworth, whose family held them until the 1960s, where they passed on to a collector. When they finally hit the Christie’s auction block in 2004, they fetched over $1.6 million. This set now is now owned by the Venezuelan government.
In the 1820s, Bolívar’s nephew, Fernando, was attending Germantown Academy in America. It just so happened that at this exact time, the Marquis de Lafayette was visiting Germantown, where he met young Fernando. The Marquis was a fan of Bolívar, and the two instantly began a friendship. In 1825, the Marquis gifted Bolívar a second set of Boutet pistols via Fernando, along with several items from George Washington’s family
Somehow, this set was even more ornate than the first, and they can only be described as masterpieces paying homage to the country’s Rococo past. They were later gifted by Bolívar to one of his closest friends, Jose Paris. After being sold by Paris’ family, they were passed through various collections, until they finally ended up at Christie’s in 2016, where they sold for $1.8 million. Like the other set, these pistols ended up in the hands of the Venezuelan government, and Maduro himself was photographed with them on several occasions.
Along with the pistols, the Marquis’ present also included a shotgun made by Baucheron Pirmet. In accordance with the Neoclassical artistic movement of the day, the double-barreled flintlock featured scenes of a boar hunt from Greek mythology.
This gun was unique in multiple ways. For starters, it is a sporting gun. This is far different than the decorative pistols sets and swords most associated with Bolívar. Additionally, it is believed to be the last of Bolívar’s guns that remained in private hands, having come from the same collection that sold the first set of revolvers after being gifted to Illingsworth.
Rock Island Auction Company offered the gun for sale in August of 2025, where it fetched a price of $500,000 — a steal for any of Bolívar’s guns! It was never released who purchased them, but I have a sneaky suspicion that they just might be somewhere in Caracas.
Shortly after Illingsworth was given the guns, Bolívar died of tuberculosis at just 47 years old. To the people of Latin America, Bolívar’s weapons are a near mystical representation of power and strength. In fact, one of his swords was even stolen by militants in the 1970s to represent the birth of a socialist revolution, and I firmly believe that they would have gladly taken these guns instead if they were in the region at the time. While I can’t speak to any magic powers these guns might hold, I can say that Bolívar had some damn fine pieces in his collection.
The post Las Armas de la Revolución appeared first on Field Ethos.
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After the capture of the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro, two of the charges brought against him by the U.S. were arms possession violations. These charges have caused many images to surface of him and various arms in his own collection, even though these guns have little to do with the charges. Notable guns featured in the photographs include an old Soviet PPSH-41 submachine gun gifted to him by Vladamir Putin and the most recent addition to his arsenal, a .50-caliber Chinese CS/LR 13 given to him in December of 2025 by the Venezuelan Military Academy. It has even been rumored that Maduro had a gold-plated MP5 stashed away somewhere, similar to the one recovered from Sadam Hussein’s palace in 2003.
But Maduro was far from the first gun-loving dictator of Venezuela, and the reason is simple: dictators use guns to represent power over those who don’t have them. In fact, long before Maduro, Simón Bolívar held the title of the title of Latin America’s best-armed leader.
There are few men more beloved in Latin America than Simón Bolívar, where he is known as El Libertador. Born into Spanish aristocracy in the New World, he spent most of his short adult life fighting the colonial government for freedom in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela, then subsequently ruling with an iron fist.
Unfortunately, very few of his guns survived, but we will explore the ones that did.
The Boutet Pistols
Perhaps the most iconic weapons associated with El Libertador were his pistol sets made by the gunsmith of Louis XVI and Napoleon, Nicolas Noël Boutet.
Bolívar’s first set of Boutet pistols was acquired during his vising to Paris in 1804 — the very trip that educated him on revolution. As expected of anything that came from Versailles at the time, these octagonal-barreled .47-caliber guns featured ornate designs and gold accents. In 1830, they were gifted to Bolívar’s financier Richard Illingworth, whose family held them until the 1960s, where they passed on to a collector. When they finally hit the Christie’s auction block in 2004, they fetched over $1.6 million. This set now is now owned by the Venezuelan government.
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The Lafayette Pistols, gifted to Bolivar by Marquis de Lafayette. 
El Libertador Simon Bolivar’s historic flintlock sporting arm by Baucheron Pirmet of Paris.
The Lafayette Pistols
In the 1820s, Bolívar’s nephew, Fernando, was attending Germantown Academy in America. It just so happened that at this exact time, the Marquis de Lafayette was visiting Germantown, where he met young Fernando. The Marquis was a fan of Bolívar, and the two instantly began a friendship. In 1825, the Marquis gifted Bolívar a second set of Boutet pistols via Fernando, along with several items from George Washington’s family
Somehow, this set was even more ornate than the first, and they can only be described as masterpieces paying homage to the country’s Rococo past. They were later gifted by Bolívar to one of his closest friends, Jose Paris. After being sold by Paris’ family, they were passed through various collections, until they finally ended up at Christie’s in 2016, where they sold for $1.8 million. Like the other set, these pistols ended up in the hands of the Venezuelan government, and Maduro himself was photographed with them on several occasions.
The Lafayette Shotgun
Along with the pistols, the Marquis’ present also included a shotgun made by Baucheron Pirmet. In accordance with the Neoclassical artistic movement of the day, the double-barreled flintlock featured scenes of a boar hunt from Greek mythology.
This gun was unique in multiple ways. For starters, it is a sporting gun. This is far different than the decorative pistols sets and swords most associated with Bolívar. Additionally, it is believed to be the last of Bolívar’s guns that remained in private hands, having come from the same collection that sold the first set of revolvers after being gifted to Illingsworth.
Rock Island Auction Company offered the gun for sale in August of 2025, where it fetched a price of $500,000 — a steal for any of Bolívar’s guns! It was never released who purchased them, but I have a sneaky suspicion that they just might be somewhere in Caracas.
The Legacy
Shortly after Illingsworth was given the guns, Bolívar died of tuberculosis at just 47 years old. To the people of Latin America, Bolívar’s weapons are a near mystical representation of power and strength. In fact, one of his swords was even stolen by militants in the 1970s to represent the birth of a socialist revolution, and I firmly believe that they would have gladly taken these guns instead if they were in the region at the time. While I can’t speak to any magic powers these guns might hold, I can say that Bolívar had some damn fine pieces in his collection.
The post Las Armas de la Revolución appeared first on Field Ethos.
Continue reading...
