WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department said Mexican drug cartels are gaining a tighter grip on the drug trade inside U.S. borders.
The National Drug Intelligence Center said in its 2010 Drug Threat Assessment that most of the illicit trade of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the United States is currently controlled by Mexican cartels, which have influence in nearly every U.S. state, The Washington Times said Friday.
"The growing strength and organization of criminal gangs, including their growing alliances with large Mexican (drug trafficking organizations), has changed the nature of midlevel and retail drug distribution in many local drug markets, even in suburban and rural areas," the center said in the report released Thursday.
The Times said the increased collaboration between Mexican cartels and U.S. street gangs is apparently profitable for both sides as the gangs save money on imported drugs and the cartels have legal U.S. citizens who can help in their drug trafficking efforts.
The center said Mexican cartels operating in the United States are sending an estimated $40 billion in cash to Mexico annually thanks to their enhanced efforts, the BBC reported.
