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Puerto Rico: the new front line in America’s war on drugs. US Customs spends billions battling drug smugglers. Drugs Inc s3e8: Zombie Island, National Geographic 2012
The emergence of a new drug that turns its users into sleep-walking zombies is so devastating. ibid.
One in seven people are drug users. ibid.
80% of the cocaine trafficked into Puerto Rico is bound for the US. ibid.
A wave of lethal weapons from hand-guns to machine-guns is flooding the island from the US. ibid.
The island is awash with drugs. ibid.
The life of a homeless addict is a constant struggle to find the money to prevent withdrawal. ibid.
Deadly and more addictive than Crystal Meth and with horrific sleep-walking side effects – the horse tranquillizer – Xylazine – it’s known on the streets as Anaesthesia. ibid.
Puerto Rico’s ailing economy has come to rely on its black market drug trade. And cocaine abuse is so rife it’s become part of the local culture. Drugs Inc s4e13: Best in the Business, 2013
In 2016 AMO seized 37,627 lbs of cocaine in Puerto Rico and surrounding waters. Dope s1e1: In This Business You Have No Friends Only Enemies, Netflix 2018
Puerto Rico has been used as a stepping stone for cocaine headed to the US mainland for decades. ibid.
Trenton, New Jersey, the capital of the Garden State is a melting-pot of cultures and some 9,000 Puerto Rican Americans call it home. The community has a fierce sense of pride, but with the good comes the bad. On the dark-side is the association Neta, a violent gang born in the prisons of Puerto Rico. Gangland s7e5: Better Off Dead, History 2010
The Neta’s influence extends to all parts of the north-east. ibid.
Gang members were also dealing narcotics and smuggling drugs into prison. ibid.
The gang’s ultimate authority still lies with its leaders in Puerto Rico. ibid.
Members swear to follow a set of rules called norms. ibid.