“All cartels are here, the Gulf, the Beltran Leyva, Sinaloa,” said Sylvia Longmire, a former special agent with the California Air Force

In an article published by the Huffington Post website Voices reveals the great power of the United States Mexican narcos, how have penetrated the neighboring country and the great growth of his empire, which have been made, money laundering, laboratories, business like horse racing where they arrested Jose Treviño Morales who prosecutors say is the brother of the Z-40 one of the leaders of Los Zetas.

The website The Huffington Post unveiled Voices in Wilmington, a small town in North Carolina, federal agents found in June 2009 a marijuana plantation. It was hidden on private land and had a 2000 400 plants.

Farmers, who had gotten to the place illegally, had arranged a camp complete with generator and water pump carrying the fluid from a river to the plantation. There was drinking water, toilets and clothes, some of them in camouflage.

Department officials in the fight against drugs (AED) are tired of waiting for the “owners” of the plantation. But believe were members of the Familia Michoacana, Mexican drug cartel that the Department of Justice says that mobilizes primarily heroin, cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine in southeastern states and southwestern United States, indicates a note posted on cnn.com.

A few weeks ago, after an investigation of more than two years, the Justice Department and the DEA broke up a money laundering network that was operated by Los Zetas, another powerful and bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartel working in the north of the country.

Authorities filed criminal charges in a court of Austin, Texas, against Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, alias The Z-40, one of the two main leaders of Los Zetas, and against his brothers Oscar Omar Treviño Morales and Jose Trevino Morales. In addition, 12 others accused, allegedly members of the cartel, of being part of a conspiracy to launder money from the trafficking of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs into the United States.

These are only part of the increasingly long list of cases in which Mexican drug cartels have a strong presence in U.S. territory.

“While most [Latino residents] are hard working people, like everyone else, is an opportunity for the common soldiers of the cartels do their thing, too,” he told the news channel CNN the DEA agent, Michael Franklin when he found the plantation in North Carolina.

Other reports claim that these activities are common in cities close to the border with Mexico, and Phoenix, Arizona. But also found branches in cities of this country as far as New York, Chicago and Atlanta.

No place is negligible for posters. Both in suburbs and rural areas are no reports of findings of drugs, weapons and money that have traced some connection to the Mexican drug gangs.

The numbers, according to the record of the activity of these groups in the country are increasing. The National Drug Intelligence Center of the Department of Justice estimates that Mexican cartels control the distribution of most of the methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana into the country, and increasingly they are the ones that produce their own drugs.

In 2009 and 2010, the center reported that 286 thousand cartels operating in U.S. cities, more than five times the amount reported in 2008. The center said only 50 cities in 2006.

Meanwhile, Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for Mexico and Canada, said in April last year that Mexican drug cartels have operations in 230 U.S. cities. Drug trafficking “is not a crisis that affects only the border.’s A crisis in our cities across the country,” he said.

In addition to the posters mentioned, last year also found that of Sinaloa, no less dangerous than its rivals, operating in South Carolina. The head of the gang was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and the authorities realized they had similar groups led by the posters that were working in Seattle, Minneapolis and Anchorage, Alaska.

“All the signs are here,” said Sylvia Longmire, a former special agent with the Air Force security analyst and former California border. He is also the author of “Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico’s Drug Wars”. “The Gulf of Beltran Leyva, Sinaloa, Los Zetas, the Arellano Félix, La Familia Michoacana …”.

But do not expect to see the big boys around here. The cartels operate mainly with the help of the drug gangs that distribute anywhere in the country. What a load of cocaine that the cartel pays off $ 3 million, the “distributors” receive only around $ 5,000.

More recently, the cartels have recruited illegal immigrants to pass drug. Border Patrol agents have intercepted migrants working as “mules”, and that are responsible for transporting drugs through the dirt roads that connect Mexico with the United States.

And if the problem has reached this degree is because the U.S. government does not think this is an issue that threatens national security, “in which I strongly disagree,” said Longmire.

“This issue is rarely mentioned in discussions … No one has a clear idea of what this means,” said the expert. In fact, at the Republican convention, which takes place this week in Tampa, Florida, the issue of drugs is not covered in the agenda, and so far no politician has mentioned something about it in one of his speeches ( convention officially begins on Tuesday, but all day Monday has been conducted with various officials of the party).

The drug, depending on the question, is introduced or produced locally, or both. For example, methamphetamine, of which the Familia Michoacana is a leader in production, is brought to the United States, but also manufactured in clandestine laboratories in the country. The chemicals to create it are brought illegally from Mexico.

Marijuana is also produced in both countries, but heroin is Mexican. Cocaine comes from South America via Mexico.

The problem, however, will not end, nor will lessen “while the drug is illegal and while there is demand,” said Longmire.

“For the government to say ‘we have a problem’ is to accept that it has ignored and allowed,” said the expert.