The Brief – The Captagon fighters

In the vintage comics of the 1940s, Kryptonite, a green crystalline material from outer space, was the only thing that made Superman vulnerable. Thankfully, in that universe, it was very rare. But what if, in our real world, the reverse is true – and the bad guys have easy access to hyper-boosters that increase their fighting prowess?

Hamas fighters (we can also call them terrorists because this is what they are) were reportedly high on the highly addictive amphetamine stimulant known as Captagon when they carried out the 7 October attack on Israel.

The innocent-looking Captagon pills, also known as the “Jihadi drug” or the “cocaine for the poor”, reportedly helped fuel the despicable barbarity committed on that day.

Until 1971, Captagon was sold legally in German pharmacies as a drug that helped focus attention and overcome fatigue.

During communism, my country, Bulgaria, was first a major importer of Captagon from Germany and then a major producer and exporter of Bulgarian-made Captagon to the Middle East.

Captagon turned out to be highly lucrative at a time when communist Bulgaria badly needed foreign currency. The army of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, among others, was reportedly high on Bulgarian Captagon.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the production of Captagon reportedly continued illegally in Bulgaria for some time, with the country singled out in a UN report dating from 2009.

Today, the major producer of Captagon is Bashar al-Assad’s Syria.

Last September, the Jordanian army said it had downed two drones carrying Captagon from Syria, and this was the third consecutive downing in less than a month. Officially, Bashar al-Assad’s government denies allegations of Syria’s involvement in drug-making and smuggling.

Two BBC journalists were expelled from Syria last July after they reported “direct links” between Captagon trade and the family of Bashar al-Assad, as well as the Syrian military.

Regional officials say Captagon is produced in Syria and partly along the Lebanese border, then exported to the Gulf. They accuse Hezbollah of having a role in the production and trade, which Hezbollah denies.

Doing his best to sound convincing in his denial, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech:

“We don’t smuggle drugs, we smuggle weapons”.

As early as 2014, Syria was thought to be a major producer and consumer of the drug, and fighters, including militants of the Islamic State group, were thought to consume Captagon to stay awake on the frontlines.

As the frontlines in Syria quieted after the government and its allies retook most of the country, the production and export of Captagon came into focus. Curbing the Captagon trade has become a key demand by Arab states seeking to restore ties with Bashar al-Assad.

It is difficult to pinpoint the value of Captagon trade, but diplomatic sources say it is worth several billion dollars a year. The US and the EU have accused the Assad family and other Syrian officials of benefitting from the trade.

The 7 October terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel is likely to put Syria and the illicit trade in Captagon back in focus.

Israeli news agency Channel 12 News reported that Israeli soldiers had discovered Captagon pills on the captured militants, as well as on the bodies of Hamas fighters killed in the conflict. Two subsequent accounts from USA Today and Semafor.com seemed to verify the scoop, citing unnamed officials from the IDF and the US government. 

The production and smuggling of an illicit drug should be taken seriously, and not only because it enriches the Assad family, as the EU says. Captagon is transforming fighters, be they from Islamic State, Hamas, or any other organisation, into killing machines, boosting their resistance to fatigue, hunger or depression.

The Israeli army may have already hit Captagon production and logistic facilities – but we should not expect them to comment on that.

More importantly, the Israeli army knows that the enemy their soldiers will be fighting in the Gaza tunnels is high on Captagon – and devilishly dangerous.

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The Roundup

Two months ago, the German government set the course with a new strategy to utilise data more effectively, but recent surveys show that the public and businesses are not convinced of the benefits of using personal data.

Despite an increase in EU policies on health and climate, there are calls to link the two even further as almost 25% of excess mortality in Europe can be traced back to the health impacts of fossil fuel burning with a new Lancet Countdown report underscores this need.

The bloc’s investment, worth more than €1 billion in EU funds over seven years, has failed to deliver “tangible results” in the aquaculture sector, according to the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

EU lawmakers reached a deal in the early hours of Thursday to regulate data-sharing of short-term rental platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com and Expedia.

The new EU rules for national debts and deficits will limit member states’ ability to act on climate change in a socially fair manner, the secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Esther Lynch, told Euractiv in an interview, warning against a return of austerity across the bloc.

Western investors in Russian companies are bracing for a new presidential decree under consideration in Moscow which they fear could force them to sell their shareholdings to the Russian government at big discounts.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron travelled to wartime Kyiv and met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks on his first working trip abroad, the Ukrainian leader said on Thursday.

The leader of the Spanish Socialist Party, Pedro Sánchez, was sworn in as Spain’s new prime minister on Thursday with a majority of 179 votes, including backing from Catalan and Basque separatist parties.

The European Union has placed hydrogen at the forefront of its ambitious climate neutrality goals. The EU aims to harness the potential of hydrogen in various sectors, such as industry, transport, and energy production, to help achieve its target of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. However, hydrogen can create several climate challenges depending on how it is produced, managed, and used.

Last but not least, don’t miss our EU Politics Decoded weekly brief: The existential angst of Europe’s left.

Look out for…

• Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič receives president and delegation of European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change on Friday.
• European Employment & Social Rights Forum 2023: AI and the World of Work in Brussels on Friday.
• Agriculture and fisheries ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday.
• European Economic Area Council meets in Brussels on Monday.

Views are the author’s

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic/Alice Taylor]