International

H: the heroin derivative ravaging Ecuador’s poor

Photo: MARCOS PIN / AFP

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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International

Macron meets Machado, stresses need for democratic transition in Venezuela

Emmanuel Macron met on Monday at the Élysée Palace with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, where they discussed the importance of advancing a democratic transition in Venezuela.

In a message shared on social media, Macron highlighted Machado’s commitment to freedom and stressed the need to achieve a transition that is peaceful and respects the will of the Venezuelan people.

“I received María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Together, we discussed her commitment to freedom and the importance of achieving a democratic, peaceful transition in Venezuela that respects the will of its people,” he wrote.

For her part, Machado expressed her “deep gratitude” to Macron and to France for their support of democracy and freedom in Venezuela.

“We have gone through a long and painful journey, and we are now very close to freedom. Venezuela will become a nation of free and equal men and women—prosperous, safe, and united,” she said.

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International

Trump says Iran seeks new talks after failed negotiations in Pakistan

Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran has reached out to United States to resume negotiations, following the collapse of recent talks held in Islamabad.

“We’ve been contacted by the other side,” Trump told reporters, adding that Iran is eager to reach a deal “at all costs.” Speaking from the Oval Office, he reiterated that his main objective is to prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons and warned that he will not allow Iran to “blackmail” the international community.

After negotiations between Washington and Tehran ended without agreement on Sunday, Trump announced that the U.S. would move to block the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil trade.

The waterway had already been disrupted by Iran in response to a U.S. and Israeli offensive launched on February 28, causing significant shocks to the global economy.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump further warned that any Iranian vessel attempting to bypass the U.S. naval blockade in the strait would be “eliminated immediately.”

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The renewed tensions have pushed oil prices higher, while global stock markets have reacted negatively to the lack of an agreement in Islamabad.

International

Trump orders U.S. control of Strait of Hormuz after failed Iran talks

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will take control of the Strait of Hormuz“effective immediately,” following the collapse of negotiations with Iran held in Islamabad.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered the U.S. Navy to block vessels attempting to enter or exit the strategic waterway, a key route for global energy trade.

“The meeting went well, agreement was reached on most points, but the only really important one — nuclear weapons — was not approved,” Trump said, referring to the talks with Iranian representatives.

The president also stated that he had instructed authorities to intercept ships in international waters that had paid tolls to Iran to transit the strait, calling such payments “illegal.” He further accused Tehran of hindering an agreement by deploying mines in the area, describing the move as “international extortion.”

Trump added that the United States will undertake efforts to clear mines from the strait and expressed confidence that a future agreement ensuring free navigation could eventually be reached.

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The announcement came after Vice President JD Vance and special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner briefed the president on the outcome of the negotiations, considered the highest-level contacts between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

While Trump acknowledged that enough progress had been made to maintain a temporary truce, he criticized Iran for remaining unwilling to abandon its nuclear ambitions, calling its position “very inflexible” on the central issue.