Mexican drug traffickers pose the biggest organized crime threat to the United States, a justice department report says

Most of the cocaine available in the US is smuggled via the US-Mexican border, while Mexican drug traffickers control most of the US drug market. Mexican smugglers are also working increasingly with US-based gangs. But the report says factors including increased border security and inter-cartel violence in Mexico have hit the cocaine supply in some areas. "Mexican drug trafficking organizations represent the greatest organized crime threat to the United States," says the annual National Drug Threat Assessment, drawn up by the justice department's National Drug Intelligence Center. "The influence of Mexican drug trafficking organizations over domestic drug trafficking is unrivalled," the report says. Mexican gangs control distribution in most US cities and are gaining strength in areas they do not yet control, the study finds. The Mexican smugglers' influence is down to a number of factors, including their use of a variety of trafficking routes and transportation methods and growing links with US-based crime organisations, including street and prison gangs. Mexican gangs maintain cross-border communication centres near the US border to co-ordinate smuggling, using satellite technology, VOIP, and encrypted messages. The report estimates that Mexican and Colombian drug traffickers make and launder between $18bn and $39bn in wholesale drug profits annually.

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