EXCLUSIVE - Mexico opens up its heroin fight to U.S., U.N. observers

[rooster59]

EXCLUSIVE - Mexico opens up its heroin fight to U.S., U.N. observers

By Michael O'Boyle

 

FILE PHOTO: A man holds a lanced poppy bulb to show how to extract the sap, which will be used to make opium, at a field in the municipality of Heliodoro Castillo, in the mountain region of the state of Guerrero, Mexico January 3, 2015. REUTERS/Claudio Vargas/File photo

 

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - For the first time in at least a decade, Mexico's army is allowing the United States and the United Nations to observe opium poppy eradication, a step toward deeper cooperation to fight heroin traffickers, three sources in Mexico said.

 

The opening could bring Mexico more in line with other drug producing countries like Afghanistan, Colombia and Peru that have been heavily involved with the United Nations in cultivation studies and eradication efforts.

 

The Mexican army hopes to gain more credit at home and abroad for its work and address doubts in Washington about the quality of its data and the success of the eradication programme, the officials said.

 

Last week, the army flew U.S. military, U.N. and embassy officials into the heart of Mexico's heroin country to witness the destruction of fields of opium poppies, according to two of the officials with knowledge of the operation.

 

The ride-along marked the first time Mexico's army has allowed U.S. and U.N. officials to observe its efforts since it took over most drug eradication activities in 2007, and three more site visits are in the works, according to one of the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, owing to the sensitivity of the matter.

 

The army is also preparing to implement by this summer hardware and software developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to allow soldiers to file data to headquarters on destroyed fields in real time, two of the officials said.

 

The information could be used to create a real-time registry of eradication efforts that would give a better idea of how much of the crop is being destroyed.

 

The shift by the army coincides with high-level bilateral talks between Mexico and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump about how to stem the flow of heroin north into the United States and guns and money south into Mexico.

 

However, U.S efforts to improve relations with the Mexican army and support eradication date back to at least last year, when U.S. assistant secretary of state for narcotics William Brownfield told the U.S. Congress that more needed to be done to destroy fields of opium, the raw material used to make heroin.

 

Two of the sources said the army arranged the trip to gain more credibility with the U.S. government as Mexico steps up eradication efforts. The army is also trying to win the trust of the Mexican public, given concerns about human rights abuses since it was deployed to fight drug gangs in the last decade.

 

GOLDEN TRIANGLE

 

The visit to Mexico's Golden Triangle of narco-states coincided with Trump's unveiling of a task force to tackle the U.S. heroin epidemic in which use of the drug has risen five-fold in the past decade, according to researchers.

 

The army took the U.S. military officials on helicopter tours of half a dozen sites in Sinaloa and Chihuahua, two of the three states that along with Durango make up the Golden Triangle where most Mexican opium is produced, one of the sources said.

 

Adam Isacson, an expert on the Mexican military at the Washington Office on Latin America, said the United States had been trying for more than two decades to gain the confidence of Mexican generals and interpreted the new opening as a step toward closer collaboration.

 

"It's a big development," he said. "Is the U.S. now going to fund an increased pace of eradication operations?"

 

The U.S. embassy in Mexico declined to comment for this story, as did the Mexican army and Mexico's foreign ministry.

 

In a written response to questions, the UNODC said it was looking forward to strengthening cooperation with Mexico but did not comment on the specifics of talks with Mexico or the tour.

 

The Mexican army's distrust of the United States goes back generations owing to the institution's deeply held nationalism. While the Mexican navy has worked closely with U.S. agents to take down drug lords, and the United States has provided millions of dollars of equipment and training for police in Mexico, the army has until now recoiled from close collaboration.

 

Roberta Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, was seen as key in pushing forward talks with the army since late last year, the sources said.

 

Mexican poppy cultivation has more than doubled since 2013 to around 28,000 hectares in 2015, according to U.S. estimates. That is enough to produce around 70 tons of heroin, compared with estimates of U.S. demand in recent years that range from 24 tons to 50 tons.

 

The Mexican army destroyed 25,960 hectares of opium fields in 2015, up 77 percent from 14,662 hectares in 2013, according to army data.

 

That would suggest Mexico destroyed most of the 2015 crop. But estimates of Mexican cultivation are based on satellite images, unlike census-based U.N. programs that can confidently map cultivation and eradication data.

 

Mexico partnered with UNODC in 2013 and issued a first cultivation report last year, about a decade after the U.N. began to work with Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-08

 

[boomerangutang]

I can think of worse things than opium addiction.  Sure it's bad, but not as bad as some of the plans by Trump and his crew.   Opium makes people lazy and sleepy.  They withdraw from society.  Alcohol does similar, except alchies get into fights and plow their vehicles into others - causing massive harm and running insurance rates up for everyone, besides taking up hospital spaces and transplant-ready livers.

 

With all the messes caused by Trump and his buddies, perhaps others getting sleepy and withdrawing to their dark rooms is not so outlandish in response. 

 

 

Edited April 8, 2017 by boomerangutang

[darksidedog]

Now if this was a story about nearly 26,000 Hectares of weed being destroyed I would be close to tears.  Heroin though is a very bad drug. Very addictive and it really screws people up and kills them.  I definitely agree with its illicit production being stamped out.

[boomerangutang]

1 minute ago, darksidedog said:

Now if this was a story about nearly 26,000 Hectares of weed being destroyed I would be close to tears.

Heroin though is a very bad drug. Very addictive and it really screws people up and kills them.

I definitely agree with its illicit production being stamped out.

                When we hear stories about heroin, we hear the worst case scenarios.  It would be like; every time you hear about wine or beer, you hear about men beating their wives and running their trucks into school buses full of children.  If the campaign against heroin were applied to wine, the US army would be flying over France and Napa Valley, CA, spraying deadly toxins on grape vines - and the heads of Seagrams, Absolut, and Johnny Walker would be slammed in prison.

 

                   I've done heroin.  I'm among the 98% who have done heroin and never harmed anyone, not even myself.   I drove a car, safely, and then went home to listen to music.

 

                      I've known people who have done alcohol, and caused mega harm.  There was a story, in Phuket, of two young men who were looking for beer money.  They stabbed an Australian woman in the chest with a knife, because she wouldn't readily hand over her wallet.  In a week, there will be hundreds of Thais dying - due to drunkeness of other Thais.     It will be about 45 deaths per day for 6 days, and hundreds of injuries, most of them alcohol fueled.   How many traffic deaths or wife beatings are caused by heroin use?  A tiny fraction of those cause by alcohol.    

 

......and then there's the harm and deaths caused by pharma drugs - which are arguably more numerous than alcohol.

 

 

[boomerangutang]

There are several reasons why heroin is demonized:  Chief among them is the alcohol industry.

 

That's also why speed, pot, hemp and all other non-alc recreational drugs are demonized.

 

How many billions is the ww alcohol biz worth?  Do they want competition?  Of course not.

[jadee]

I haven't tried heroin so I bow to boomerangutang's knowledge however I did watch a BBC Three documentary 'Smack in Suburbia' which claimed 'In the USA, someone dies from a heroin overdose every 50 minutes'. This is similar to drink-drive related deaths: Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 51 minutes. (CDC)
I don't doubt that alcohol is more deadly/leads to more deaths, but I wouldn't characterize heroin as harmless.

In terms of why heroin is banned, have you watched John Oliver's show Last Night Tonight (April 2nd)? It discusses the nonsensical US policy towards marijuana and while heroin isn't mentioned, I'm sure the reasons for its criminalization are quite similar. The show  played a recording of President Nixon explaining why he was criminalizing marijuana. "You know it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish." then later Nixon said 'By God we are going to hit the marijuana thing, and I want to hit it right square in the puss'. That's a US President who sounds quite anti semitic explaining why criminalization needs to happen - no mention of science, evidence or facts. 

[boomerangutang]

I'm not saying heroin is ok.  But I am comparing recreational drugs to each other.

 

Fentanyl is particularly bad.  It's so bad that a man will smash a hammer onto his hand and break his knuckles - in order to get to hospital and get a subscription for fentanyl. 

 

The strongest type of fentanyl tranquilizer is called 'carfentanyl.'   Nearly all of it comes to the US from China, though that conduit appears to be closing somewhat.   When carfentanyl first came to towns in Ohio, users were dying by the score, each day, from self-administered doses.   Just touching the stuff can be dangerous, as it can seep into skin.    

[Trouble]

27 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

                When we hear stories about heroin, we hear the worst case scenarios.  It would be like; every time you hear about wine or beer, you hear about men beating their wives and running their trucks into school buses full of children.  If the campaign against heroin were applied to wine, the US army would be flying over France and Napa Valley, CA, spraying deadly toxins on grape vines - and the heads of Seagrams, Absolut, and Johnny Walker would be slammed in prison.

 

                   I've done heroin.  I'm among the 98% who have done heroin and never harmed anyone, not even myself.   I drove a car, safely, and then went home to listen to music.

 

                      I've known people who have done alcohol, and caused mega harm.  There was a story, in Phuket, of two young men who were looking for beer money.  They stabbed an Australian woman in the chest with a knife, because she wouldn't readily hand over her wallet.  In a week, there will be hundreds of Thais dying - due to drunkeness of other Thais.     It will be about 45 deaths per day for 6 days, and hundreds of injuries, most of them alcohol fueled.   How many traffic deaths or wife beatings are caused by heroin use?  A tiny fraction of those cause by alcohol.    

 

......and then there's the harm and deaths caused by pharma drugs - which are arguably more numerous than alcohol.

 

 

I am glad you got home safely after taking a drug that makes one lethargic and driving.  There seems to be a serious addiction problem rising in the northeast US.  I have done my share of things but have never been involved with meth or heroin.  There is no doubt that trying a drug once or twice and walking away is a gift but there are those who seem unable to do that.  Heroin is a physically addictive drug so I have no problem eradicating fields of the stuff.  I have been involved with trying to help a couple of friends who got on meth and I can tell you I learned a lot watching over one in particular.  It is nasty stuff that is creating a whole generation of users who can't get off the stuff.  It is happening here in the US and in Thailand. Heroin is just as bad. Making people lazy, as you put it, doesn't mean it is not harmful to the users or those around them.  I'm pretty liberal when it comes to most drugs but when it comes to meth and heroin, pushers would be in jail for a long time and the big guys involved in the trade would probably see the death penalty if I had my choosing.

[boomerangutang]

2 hours ago, Trouble said:

I am glad you got home safely after taking a drug that makes one lethargic and driving.  There seems to be a serious addiction problem rising in the northeast US.  I have done my share of things but have never been involved with meth or heroin.  There is no doubt that trying a drug once or twice and walking away is a gift but there are those who seem unable to do that.  Heroin is a physically addictive drug so I have no problem eradicating fields of the stuff.  I have been involved with trying to help a couple of friends who got on meth and I can tell you I learned a lot watching over one in particular.  It is nasty stuff that is creating a whole generation of users who can't get off the stuff.  It is happening here in the US and in Thailand. Heroin is just as bad. Making people lazy, as you put it, doesn't mean it is not harmful to the users or those around them.  I'm pretty liberal when it comes to most drugs but when it comes to meth and heroin, pushers would be in jail for a long time and the big guys involved in the trade would probably see the death penalty if I had my choosing.

                           The things you say about heroin and meth users - could you not also say similar about alcoholics?  Sure, drugs can be very bad.  Similarly, perhaps less so, bad things could be said about too much sugar or trans-fats.    The San Francisco cop who murdered Harvey Milk and Mayor Moscone (shot 'em both dead, point blank) used the so-called 'Twinkie defense' to get a light sentence.  His lawyer successfully convinced a jury that because the cop routinely ate so much sugary crap, that he was (at least partially) deranged and/or incapacitated.    You see how crazy things can get?

 

                   Drug education should be widespread.  There are always going to be abusers of recreational drugs - and those people should be treated clinically/medically rather than thrown in jail or, as happens in S.E. Asia, killed by the state.    

 

[sanemax]

2 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

The things you say about heroin and meth users - could you not also say similar about alcoholics?

Yes, you could say the same about alcohol, as drug users do say so every time when drugs are mentioned . 

[Colabamumbai]

"I've seen the needle and the damage done", Neil Young.

[boomerangutang]

6 hours ago, sanemax said:

Yes, you could say the same about alcohol, as drug users do say so every time when drugs are mentioned . 

                       Maybe some drug users say such things.  I don't smoke, and the only rec. drug I do is a thimble of brandy b4 retiring at night.  I took a hike, a few months ago, across the Thai-Burma border into Burma.  There's no fence or wall.  I hiked a few miles, and came to a hill tribe.  A local guy insisted I visit him at his thatch hut.  I didn't want to, but obliged him.  Once I sat down, he offered me one drug after another, including opium and ya-ba (pink colored speed pills).  I declined, and then got up and continued hiking.

 

                     I still stand by my opinions on alcohol vs all other rec drugs.  It's not based on reason, but based mostly on economics.  There are too many billions of dollars invested in alcohol - so they have a lot of political power to suppress all other rec. drugs.   It has little to do with the comparative harm caused by various drugs, but everything to do with the rich wanting to get richer.  

 

                 Note:  The beer biz is controlled by one or two very rich families in Thailand.  Whenever there's an article mentioning the possible legalization of pot in Thailand, there's an adjoining qualifier which states; 'if pot is ever decriminalized, it will be highly controlled.'  Translation: one or two very rich Chinese-Thai families will control the growing and selling of it.