Thousands of drug addicts reside in the shade of Ciudad Juarez, the infamous Mexican border city at the epicenter of a wave of brutal drug violence as well as growing drug use.
Discarded by authorities, the addicts live in fear of drug gangs who threaten and sometimes kill them for no apparent reason, including several wicked massacres in drug treatment centers.
"Now they come in houses and kill us. We keep this window open so we can at least try to escape over the roof," said a drug user who gave her name as Carla, inside a house used as a 'shooting gallery' for heroin in Barrio Alto, a central district dotted with deserted businesses.
Groups of addicts knot in hundreds of similar spots of despondency in the border city across from El Paso, Texas, from which thousands of wealthier residents have fled in recent years. The city government counts more than 5,000 heroin addicts alone in Ciudad Juarez, the biggest group in Latin America.
Many honestly shoot up, like Ricardo, who sits on the back of a pick up truck next to the factory which employs him as a security guard. A trace of users visits the truck during the day, sometimes aided by another addict to inject themselves.Ricardo said he did not accuse people to use his space but asked them to cooperate.
"Now they come in houses and kill us. We keep this window open so we can at least try to escape over the roof," said a drug user who gave her name as Carla, inside a house used as a 'shooting gallery' for heroin in Barrio Alto, a central district dotted with deserted businesses.
Groups of addicts knot in hundreds of similar spots of despondency in the border city across from El Paso, Texas, from which thousands of wealthier residents have fled in recent years. The city government counts more than 5,000 heroin addicts alone in Ciudad Juarez, the biggest group in Latin America.
Many honestly shoot up, like Ricardo, who sits on the back of a pick up truck next to the factory which employs him as a security guard. A trace of users visits the truck during the day, sometimes aided by another addict to inject themselves.Ricardo said he did not accuse people to use his space but asked them to cooperate.
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