80 million poppies destroyed in Guatemala
By Dialogo May 24, 2012
GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemalan security forces have eradicated more than 80 million poppy plants near the border with Mexico this week in a blow to regional drug traffickers, authorities said May 23.
Some 800 narcotics investigators and police took part in the operation, which also destroyed about 245 million poppy bulbs and thousands of marijuana plants, according to authorities.
Deputy anti-drug minister Eunice Mendizábal said farmers were using drip irrigation on the sprawling plantation in order to improve the quality of the plants, with men, women and children helping with the farming.
Mexico and much of Central America has been hit by a massive crime wave in recent years linked to the lucrative cross-border drug trade.
[AFP (Guatemala), 24/05/2012; Terra.com (Guatemala), 23/05/2012]
