Mexican cartels greatest drug threat to the US: DEA

Mexican traffickers, specifically the Sinaloa Cartel, continue to be the U.S.'s greatest drug threat, according to the DEA's latest report, which was released yesterday. The report reports on how Mexican traffickers continue to dominate control of exports of marihuana and opioids such as heroin and methamphetamines to the U.S., with little to no outside competition.

The unclassified document titled “2016 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary” claims that the DEA does not believe the situation will improve in the short term and that Mexican traffickers will continue to dominate exports of narcotics and wholesale distribution of marihuana, methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin in the U.S.

They also say that “no other organization currently possesses an infrastructure that can rival Mexican transnational criminal organization dominance over the U.S. drug trade.”

In addition to the Sinaloa Cartel, which continues to be the strongest, others cartels with significant influence include the Jalisco New Generation, Juárez, Gulf, Los Zetas and Beltrán-Leyva.

All of these organizations have suffered a spike in high-profile arrests and assassinations in recent years. However, according to the DEA, the only thing the arrests and deaths have accomplished are these cartels fracturing into several smaller regional factions.

These groups control lucrative smuggling corridors across the U.S. Southwest Border (SWB), Mexican traffickers are able to introduce multi-ton quantities of illicit drugs into the United States on a yearly basis.

The report also goes on to warn about partnerships being formed between Mexican cartels and gangs in the U.S.

Drug poisoning deaths are currently at their highest ever recorded level and, every year since 2009, drug poisoning deaths have outnumbered deaths by firearms, motor vehicle crashes, suicide, and homicide. In 2014, approximately 129 people died every day as a result of drug poisoning.