美国国家公共电台 NPR On The Hunt For Poppies In Mexico — America's Biggest Heroin Supplier

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And now we have an update on the fight against the heroin¹ supply. Heroin is made from poppies. Some are grown in Mexico. And the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration recently criticized Mexico's effort to destroy them. The Mexican military says it is trying and invited NPR's Carrie Kahn to see.

CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE²: The mountains of the southwestern state of Guerrero are ideal for growing crops. They get warm coastal³ humidity up here, says Lieutenant⁴ Colonel Juan Jose Orzua Padilla. And there's plenty of water, as evident by the network of rubber tubing crisscrossing the rugged⁵ dirt roads we're traveling on in the back of a military jeep.

LIEUTENANT COLONEL JUAN JOSE ORZUA PADILLA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: You can't compare it with any other region in the Republic, says Orzua, the spokesman for the Mexican military's 35th zone. Guerrero is now Mexico's biggest opium⁶ poppy supplier. It's heroin, also increasingly made in a growing number of clandestine⁷ laboratories in the state, is some of the world's most potent⁸ after China or Afghanistan. But the lieutenant colonel adds solemnly this is nothing to be proud of. We stop the engine and look over a small canyon⁹.

It's everywhere. (Speaking Spanish).

PADILLA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: Yes, says Orzua, as he points out one to two-acre patches of poppies in the distance on the steep hillsides. Closer to the road, the crops distinctive¹⁰ deep-red flowers can be spotted¹¹. Orzua sends his soldiers out quickly to secure a perimeter¹².

(SOUNDBITE OF RIPPING OUT PLANTS)

KAHN: Given the all-clear, the soldiers start ripping out the green plants from the roots then throw their bundles on a small fire in the middle of the field.

(SOUNDBITE OF FIRE)

KAHN: Lt. Col. Urzua says despite the farmer's hard work, he's not the one making the big money here. His take is about 750 dollars a harvest.

PADILLA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: The farmers barely survive, says Lt. Col. Orzua. They are exploited by the criminal groups - at least 15 now operating in the state. The gangs are the ones who make the real profits, he adds - up to tens of thousands of dollars once the heroin gets across the border to the U.S. Orzua says this plot will probably be replanted with poppies once his soldiers move on. Critics say eradication¹³ isn't denting¹⁴ Mexico's opium poppy harvest mainly because local poor farmers aren't given incentives¹⁵ or help to plant anything else. Deborah Bonello is an investigator¹⁶ with Insight Crime, a nonprofit studying organized crime in the Americas.

DEBORAH BONELLO: There haven't really been any genuinely successful efforts in terms of offering alternatives.

KAHN: And she says if eradication efforts were working, street-level heroin prices would be rising. Clearly they're not, says Bonello. A cheap and plentiful¹⁷ heroin supply in the US has been blamed mostly for some 64,000 drug overdose deaths in 2016. The DEA says 93 percent of heroin used in the U.S. is now coming from Mexico. Eradication in Guerrero is also complicated by high levels of corruption¹⁸ and collusion among local police and politicians with the criminal gangs. Despite the challenges, Lt. Col. Orzua says he's confident his soldiers will destroy record amounts of poppies this year.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: A soldier sends an update on the eradication unit's progress back to headquarters from the mountain base camp. It's pretty bare bones, just a few tents and coolers. The men, 28 per unit, spend up to two months covering about five miles a day ripping out poppy plants. Orzua says he knows his small band of soldiers isn't going to end poppy production here.

PADILLA: (Speaking Spanish).

KAHN: We are eradicating¹⁹ more than ever, but it's still not enough. It takes all parts of the government working together, he says, stopping corruption, creating more jobs and providing better education if we are really going to solve drug trafficking here. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, high in the mountains in Guerrero, Mexico.

(SOUNDBITE OF GOLDEN RETRIEVER'S "NEO TURF MASTERS")

1 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

4 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

5 rugged   

adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的

参考例句：

• Football players must be rugged.足球运动员必须健壮。
• The Rocky Mountains have rugged mountains and roads.落基山脉有崇山峻岭和崎岖不平的道路。

6 opium   

n.鸦片；adj.鸦片的

参考例句：

• That man gave her a dose of opium.那男人给了她一剂鸦片。
• Opium is classed under the head of narcotic.鸦片是归入麻醉剂一类的东西。

7 clandestine   

adj.秘密的，暗中从事的

参考例句：

• She is the director of clandestine operations of the CIA.她是中央情报局秘密行动的负责人。
• The early Christians held clandestine meetings in caves.早期的基督徒在洞穴中秘密聚会。

8 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

9 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

10 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

11 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

12 perimeter   

n.周边，周长，周界

参考例句：

• The river marks the eastern perimeter of our land.这条河标示我们的土地东面的边界。
• Drinks in hands,they wandered around the perimeter of the ball field.他们手里拿着饮料在球场周围漫不经心地遛跶。

13 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

14 denting   

v.使产生凹痕( dent的现在分词 )；损害；伤害；挫伤（信心、名誉等）

参考例句：

• Dad gave me a rocket for denting his car. 因为我撞坏了我父亲的车，为此他痛骂了我一顿。 来自互联网
• Because titanium isextremely strong, it is resistant to scratching, denting, and bending. 由于钛isextremely强，可耐刮伤，凹陷，和弯曲。 来自互联网

15 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

16 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

17 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

18 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

19 eradicating   

摧毁，完全根除( eradicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective: To study the acute and chronic toxicity of Ten-flavor-acne eradicating-capsule. 目的：探讨复方中药合剂十味平痤胶囊的急性及慢性毒性。
• We are on the verge of eradicating polio in the world. 我们已在世界消除小儿？痹症的边缘了。