Journal of Haiti and the Americas

Mexico: diving in Sinaloa, land of the narcos

Audio 7:30 p.m.

“Dawn has risen on a dead man.

Armed violence and poppy cultivation in Mexico”, by Adèle Blazquez.

© CNRS Editions

By: Mikael Ponge

2 mins

Badiraguato, a village in the heart of the mountainous Sinaloa region in northwestern Mexico, is known around the world thanks to a Netflix series retracing the footsteps of the most famous Mexican "Narcos", Joaquín El Chapo Guzman and Rafael Caro Quintero .

But how do those who live in the region, the scene of the violence of the traffickers, live on a daily basis?

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Badiraguato, epicenter of a "war on drugs" which has claimed more victims since the beginning of the 21st century than the conflicts in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The anthropologist Adèle Blazquez went there in 2014-2015, a time when a large part of the inhabitants still lived from opium production.

Who are these poppy growers, caught between military repression and the exploitation of those who buy their harvest?

In what ways do we move in this landlocked space where a bad encounter can arise at any moment?

His book "

man" describes all the strategies put in place by the inhabitants to live, despite the violence.

answers questions from Christophe Paget.

Brittney Griner, a basketball player at the heart of the showdown between Washington and Moscow

Russia says it is "ready" to discuss a prisoner swap with the United States, the day after American women's basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison.

The player, convicted by a Russian court (August 4, 2022) in a controversial “drug trafficking” case, found herself despite herself plunged into the geopolitical crisis between Washington and Moscow, in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden has called the conviction of the 31-year-old double Olympic champion "unacceptable", the United States accusing Moscow of instrumentalizing her case to extract concessions from Washington.

The American administration has claimed, for several days, to have submitted to the Kremlin a proposal to obtain the release of Brittney Griner,

Haiti: release of 6 hostages including a Frenchman

The National Police of Haiti (PNH) released six hostages, including a French national, during an operation in Guédon, Croix-des-Bouquets, stronghold of the 400 Mawozo gang.

,” detailed Inspector Gary Desrosiers, interviewed by

.

This operation is one of the few carried out by the PNH in the stronghold of 400 Mawozo to free hostages.

This gang, reputed to be formidable, has many cases of kidnapping to its credit, including those of 16 American nationals and a Canadian, after that of more than a dozen religious including two French nationals.

And on the front page of the Journal de la 1ère

Many inhabitants of Guadeloupe complain of water cuts that can last several days.

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• Mexico

• Dope

• Basketball

• United States

• Russia

• Diplomacy

• Haiti

• Guadeloupe

On the same subject

7 billion neighbors

Populations faced with the violence of Mexican drug trafficking

Russia: basketball player Brittney Griner sentenced to 9 years in prison, strong reactions in the United States

Haiti: release of five young Turks held by a gang