The “American fist”—original name of what is now known in Latin America as a manopla or brass knuckles—was originally used by the U.S. Navy in close combat in the early 20th century, later abandoned and adopted by criminal groups.

This piece is forged by melting U.S. coins in Mexico City, transforming currency into a weapon. It functions as a metaphor for neoliberal ideological devices: a seemingly minor element that, when recast, becomes a tool of control. The work references entanglements between politics, crime, and markets, particularly in connection with the Colombian drug trade of the 1980s and 1990s.