In its 2024 National Drug Threat Assessment, the Drug Enforcement Agency revealed that Mexican cartels are operating in all 50 states, and have been at the forefront of the "dangerous shift from plant-based to synthetic drugs."
The two "most powerful and ruthless" cartels, the Sinaloa and Jalisco, essentially control the flow of illicit drugs into the United States via their "worldwide organized criminal networks."
According to the agency, while states bordering Mexico are among the hardest hit, others further inland such as Colorado, North Carolina, Illinois, and New York have seen more than their fair share of cartel activity. They've even made it to Alaska and Hawaii.
Both the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels "rely on chemical companies and pill press companies in China to supply the precursor chemicals and pill presses needed to manufacture the drugs."
