Our Dallas readers are no doubt aware of increasing over the activity of Mexican drug cartels. Along with increasing warnings from federal officials regarding the safety of travelling to the nation, there are increasing reports of cartel-related violence in numerous American cities.

In fact, Attorney General Eric Holder estimated earlier this month that nearly 48,000 have been killed in suspected drug-related violence in Mexico over the past five years. And over 5,000 people have disappeared in connection with the violence, not to mention the tens of thousands of orphaned children.

Those involved in the cartel come both from both south and north of the border. According to the U.S. Justice Department, representatives from the Mexican cartels were present in 230 different cities in the United States in 2008, and that number is now around 1,000.

Most of the cartel-related violence remains in Mexico, but authorities in numerous states have investigated abductions and murders thought to be related to the cartels.

Some of the killings connected to the cartels have become well-known for their savagery and recruitment of the young. Tragically, those becoming involved in the cartel include those as young as 14 years of age.

According to a Justice Department released in 2009, the driving force behind the activity may be its enormous profits. Mexican traffickers apparently control the flow of most of the cocaine, heroin, foreign marijuana and methamphetamine to the United States. Drugs are significantly cheaper to produce in Mexico compared to the United States.

In our next post, we'll continue with this topic.

Source: CNN, "The Mexico drug war: Bodies for billions," Ashley Fantz, January 18, 2012.