International
H: the heroin derivative ravaging Ecuador’s poor
January 20 | By AFP | Karla Pesantes |
Shaking and delirious, Rina ambles half-dressed beside a dump in Ecuador’s port city of Guayaquil.
She is under the psychotropic effects of “H,” a cheap and addictive drug that is ravaging the poorest sectors of Ecuadoran society.
The scene was captured on video on New Year’s Eve and relayed to the municipal health center, which came to her aid.
“When I consume (the drug) I hear voices,” the 24-year-old, who is using a pseudonym, told AFP.
For the second time in less than a year she is following a drug rehabilitation program.
In her desperation, Rina stole and even worked as a prostitute to buy H, a heroin-based white powder that can be snorted or smoked and is sold for $1 a gram.
It is much cheaper and much more toxic than cocaine, which goes for $3 to $5.
H is cut with all sorts of toxic materials that can harm humans.
“We have found lime, cement, ether, rat poison and even ketamine, an analgesic used on horses,” in the white powder, said psychiatrist Julieta Sagnay, from the Guayaquil-based Neuroscience Institute, an NGO that supports drug addicts.
Guayaquil, a city of almost three million people, has become a hub of drug trafficking and addiction.
Officials say 162 kilograms of H were seized in 2022.
Sagnay, an expert with more than 30 years of experience treating addicts, says the number of patients she treats for H use is increasing every day.
And their physical condition deteriorates quicker than other patients.
In just six months, H addicts are constantly moving their legs, scratching, and not sleeping or eating.
Withdrawal symptoms are so severe, says Sagnay, that it is unbearable without at least eight days of pharmaceutical treatment.
‘They beat me’
There are three public clinics in Guayaquil for addicts and there are more than 30 private ones but they can cost up to $700 a month in a country where the minimum wage is just $450.
Some addicts turn to back-alley detox centers.
“They beat me, they poured a bucket of cold water on me and we ate chicken heads every day,” said Hugo Mora, who was treated four years ago in a dirty, dark, illegal center with no windows.
It only cost $150 but it was a failure.
After trying out two such clinics, the 24-year-old street vendor spent a week in a municipal hospital, where he was treated in a large room with more than a dozen beds.
The hospital takes in up to 150 daily patients, 90 percent of whom are suffering from an H addiction.
The InSight Crime think tank says H arrived in Guayaquil in 2011, pushed by Colombian cartels hoping to develop the heroin market.
But the H powder contains less than three percent heroin, according to forensic psychologist and retired police officer Segundo Romero.
“As there is so little pure drug, the addict needs to consume more and buy more,” said the forensic psychologist.
He told a story about meeting addicts in prison whose faces were covered in dust.
“As they no longer had any drugs, they had scratched the walls and put white paint in their nostrils,” he said.
With just one gram of heroin, a dealer can make 40 grams of H, with the mix of ingredients provoking psychotic symptoms and hallucinations.
In Cerro las Cabras, the drug supermarket in Duran, a town opposite Guayaquil along the Guayas river, H sales bring in $1 million a month, according to official estimates.
International
Pentagon deploys USS Gerald R. Ford after narco-boat operation kills six
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Friday the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest warship in the country, to the Caribbean Sea. The mission is part of efforts to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime in Latin America.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the deployment will enhance the U.S. operational capacity to detect, monitor, and dismantle illicit actors and activities within the Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) area of responsibility.
He added that the operation will bolster existing capabilities to reduce drug trafficking and counter the activities of transnational criminal organizations operating in the region.
The announcement comes just hours after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the death of six crew members of a narco-boat in the Caribbean during a U.S.-led operation. The vessel was linked to the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua, one of the most violent groups in the region.
The incident has heightened diplomatic tensions between the United States and several Latin American governments, particularly Colombia and Venezuela, following direct statements by President Donald Trump.
International
Controversial $130 million donation to Pentagon sparks debate over troop pay
The U.S. Department of Defense received a $130 million donation from an anonymous donor to pay troops during the ongoing federal government shutdown, which has lasted nearly a month.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that the donation was accepted under the “general authority to receive gifts,” according to a statement released on Friday. The contribution comes with the sole condition that it be used to cover salaries and benefits for service members while the government shutdown, which began on October 1, remains in effect.
The donation has sparked controversy on social media due to its unusual nature and because it may violate the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending beyond Congress-approved allocations or accepting voluntary services.
During the shutdown, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to use research and development funds to pay troops. However, legislators, including House Republican leader Mike Johnson, warned that this fund transfer was only a temporary measure and would not solve the underlying issue unless both parties approve a continuing resolution.
The Pentagon has not yet explained how the donation will be distributed, considering that there are 1.3 million active-duty service members, according to official Congressional data, and that the Trump administration had requested approximately $600 billion this year for military salaries.
International
Putin calls U.S.-Russia summit a “mistake” without guaranteed results
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Wednesday that holding a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump would be a “mistake” without certainty of concrete results, following the cancellation of the planned meeting in Budapest.
“Without a doubt, such a meeting must be well-prepared. For me and the U.S. president, it would be a mistake to treat it lightly and come out of that meeting without the expected outcome,” Putin told local media from the Kremlin.
The Russian leader said the initiative for the summit came from the U.S. side and that he had accepted the proposal. “In our last phone conversation, both the meeting and its location were proposed by the U.S. side. I agreed,” he said.
Putin added that Moscow continues to support dialogue, even in the current context. However, he admitted uncertainty about whether a meeting with Trump could take place later. “Now I see that, in his statement, the U.S. president has decided to cancel or postpone the meeting. Most likely, it is a postponement, since dialogue is always better than confrontation, disputes, or especially war,” he emphasized.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reaffirmed that Moscow does not consider a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine that does not meet its original demands. “We see no alternative other than achieving the objectives of the special military operation,” Zakharova stated.
Among the conditions Russia has set for resuming dialogue with Washington and other international actors are: ensuring Ukraine’s neutral and non-aligned status, its demilitarization, the removal of elements considered “Nazis,” full respect for the rights of Russian-speaking populations, and unrestricted operation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Pentagon deploys USS Gerald R. Ford after narco-boat operation kills six
Controversial $130 million donation to Pentagon sparks debate over troop pay
Putin calls U.S.-Russia summit a “mistake” without guaranteed results
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