Burundanga, un inquietante articolo dalla Colombia dove fa molte vittime
venerdì, 16 Marzo, 2012
Continuano a circolare inquietanti notizie sulla burundanga. Che sarebbe nient’altro che “scopolamina” estratta principalmente dalla pianta della Datura (nella foto pianta e fiore).Sostanza incolore, priva di odore, solubile. Capace di provocare allucinazioni, perdita di memoria temporanea, grave stordimento.Iniziata dunque come una sorta di leggenda metropolitana questa storia
dell’uso criminale della burundanga sarebbe invece da prendere
a quanto pare in considerazione.Qui di seguito una scheda sulla sostanza in Colombia, dove la pianta in questione è chiamata “borrachera” ubriacatrice) e la sostanza è usata anche in violenze sessuali.La scheda è tratta dal sito earthops.org/scopalamine1.htmlBurundanga is a kind of voodoo powder obtained from a Colombian localplant of the nightshade family, a shrub called barrachera, or "drunkenbinge". Used for hundreds of years by Natie Americans in religious ceremonies,the powder when ingested causes victims to lose their will and memory,sometimes for days. (This drug is also known as Nightshade or "CIA drugs).When refined the powder yields scopolamine, a well-know drug withlegitimate uses as a sedative and to combat motion sickness. (Mengele ofNazi fame also had and experimented with scopolamine as a truth serum).But in Colombia, the drug's most avid fans are street criminals. Crooksmix the powder with sedatives and feed the Burundanga cocktail to unsuspectingvictims whom they then proceed to rob - or worse.Doctors here estimate that Colombian hustlers slip the odorless,colorless and soluble Burundanga (pronounced boor-oon-DAN-ga) in food ordrink to about 500 unwitting victims in the city each month. About half ofthe city's total emergency room admissions for poison are Burundangavictims."It is a very serious problem," says Fernando Botero, Colombia's defenseminister. Adds Camilo Uribe, the doctor who runs the city's formost toxicologyclinic and who is in charge of toxicology for all of Bogota's public hospitals."It's epidemic".It seems that everyone in Bogota knows someone who has been victimized bythe drug, Burundanguiado, as the say in Spanish. In one common scenario, aperson will be offered a soda or drink laced with the substance. The nextthe person remembers is waking up miles away, extremely groggy and with nomemory of what happened. People soon discover that they have handed overjewelry, money, car keys, and sometimes have even made multiple bank with-drawals for the benefit of their assailants. Because Burundanga is oftengiven at seedy bars or houses of prostitution, many victims are reluctantto come forward."The victim can't say no; he has no will and becomes very open tosuggestion. It's like CHEMICAL HYPNOTISM," says Dr. Uribe. "From themoment it's given, the victim remembers absolutely nothing of what happened."He adds, "From a criminal point of view, it's got a lot of advantages".Architect David Neneses says he was Burundanguiado twice in one weeklast December. Mr. Meneses' first encounter with Burundanga took place on aFriday night when he stopped at a pharmacy to buy antacid. Two well-dressedmen approached hes car. Teh last thing Mr. Menses remembers is one of themen unwrapping a piece of candy. "I woke up the next day at noon at myhouse." he says. He had no memory of how he got there, though the doorman inhis building told Mr. Menseses he saw him com in at 7 a.m. looking nervousand confused.On Monday, Mr. Meneses checked with his bank, where he was told thathis ATM card made 13 withdrawals for a total of about $700 on that lostFriday night. Concerned that he might have unwittingly been involved incriminal activity, or that his car had been used, Mr. Meneses went to thelocal prosecutors office where he made a sworn statement saying he wasn'trespon- sible for anything that had happened during the hours he was underthe influence of the drug.Three days later, the luckless Mr. Meneses noticed that he had a flattire. Two men on the street approached him and offered to change it. "Iremember they gave me something to drink, which I can't imagine why Idrank." he says. Police found him asleep in his car six hours later. He hadbeen robbed of his radio and about $125.These days, Mr. Meneses is careful to drive with the windows rolled up.He doesn't venture out much at night anymore. "Burundanga is a very dangerousweapon in the hands of the underworld" he says.Not all cases of Burundanga involve theft or robbery. Sometimes victimshave been used as mules to carry cocaine, says Dr. Uribe's brother Manuel, aneurologist practicing at the clinic. In one incident, says Manuel Uribe, awell-known Colombian diplomat disappered shortly after leaving a function inBogota, only to reappear in Chile under arrest for cocaine smuggling. Medicaltests showed he had been under the influence of Burundanga, and no chargeswere filed.Camilo Uribe said that in a minority of cases Burundanga is used to lureyoung women who are then abused sexually. When they are found days later,they have no memory of what has happened to them. "You see that a lot withuniversity coeds." he says.Camilo Uribe is often called by companies and embassies to talk about theperils of Burundanga. One diplomatic mission that takes the problem veryseriously is the U.S. Embassy. Its orientation manual warns freshmandiplomats never to visit bars or nightclubs alone. "Druggings in groupsituations are far less common" the manual says, adding that food and drinksshould never be left unattended. At the Colombian unit of Dow Chemical Co.(now there's an organization that knows about drugs!) security officialsperiodically tell employees how to avoid getting Burundanguiado "There havebeen many cases." says Oswaldo Parra, the company's legal officer. "It's avery common practice in Colombia."Curiosly, just next door in Ecuador, where the plant is grown commerciallyfor medical purposes, its criminal use is unknown. Instead, the plant is thesubject of poetry and myth. If one sleeps under the plant in Ecuador, hewill be able to tell the future, legends say.Here, however, Pedro Gomez Silva, a forensic chemical expert, tells policecadets that for fear of Burundanga, Colombians shouldn't accept food, drinksor cigarettes from strangers, nor buy them from street vendors.What's more, to be on the safe side, Colombians shouldn't help when askedfor directions or the time of day. And forget sidewalk romances. The way thingsgo with Burundanga, flirting with a stranger could lead to a really lostweekend..tagged under: Burundanga.Colombia
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