Growth Industry

Proceso has a cover story this week built around a Department of Justice report that indicates the presence of at least one of the Mexican cartels in almost 200 American cities, from Tacoma, Washington to Portland, Maine to West Palm Beach, Florida to San Ysidro, California. The article doesn't give a whole lot of indication of the degree to which they are present, but since it talks about the potential for expansion, I would guess that it's still pretty limited in most towns. In any event, this isn't the first report of Mexican cartels operating in cities in the interior of the country; this is a trend that should worry policy makers.