In the 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) disclosed that Mexican drug cartels have infiltrated all 50 states of the United States, leading to a perilous transition from plant-based to synthetic drugs.
The DEA identified the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels as the "most powerful and ruthless," controlling the influx of illegal drugs into the US through their extensive global criminal networks.
While the states bordering Mexico are severely affected, the agency noted that the cartels' influence extends far beyond, reaching states like Colorado, North Carolina, Illinois, and New York. The cartels' operations have even penetrated the distant states of Alaska and Hawaii.
The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, according to the DEA, depend on Chinese chemical and pill press companies for the supply of precursor chemicals and pill presses essential for drug manufacturing.
These drugs are then produced in covert labs in Mexico, smuggled across the border into the US, and distributed on the streets by local associates. The cartels employ underground banking systems based in China to repatriate the profits to their leaders in Mexico.
The DEA highlighted the cartels' shift to synthetic drugs as a significant factor in the "most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced." Synthetic substances like fentanyl and methamphetamine are responsible for "nearly all of the fatal drug poisonings in our nation."
Administrator Anne Milgram stated, "As the lead law enforcement agency in the Administrations whole-of-government response to defeat the Cartels and combat the drug poisoning epidemic in our communities, DEA will continue to collaborate on strategic counterdrug initiatives with our law enforcement partners across the United States and the world."
Fox News reported that several cartel members have been apprehended across the country in recent weeks. Among them is Roque Bustamante, infamously known as "Skittles Man," who was allegedly involved in the sale of rainbow-colored fentanyl pills.
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