Mexican drug wars spreading to U.S.

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The deadly drug gang turf wars that have claimed 4,000 lives so far this year in Mexico have spread to cities across the United States, officials say.

One example is in Atlanta, where federal authorities last month announced indictments against 41 people they said were trafficking drugs and laundering money for Mexican drug cartels, including a former deputy sheriff, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In San Diego, six men accused of belonging to a rogue faction of Tijuana's Arellano Felix gang were charged in connection with as many as a dozen murders and 20 kidnappings over a three-year span, the newspaper said.

U.S. officials say Mexican gangs have committed slayings, kidnappings and other crimes in at least 195 U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Seattle and Honolulu.

Authorities have completed an 18-month investigation aimed at the Mexican cartels called Project Reckoning, in which authorities arrested 507 people and seized more than $60 million in cash, 16,000 kilograms of cocaine, half a ton of methamphetamine, 19 pounds of heroin and 51 pounds of marijuana, the Times said.