Increasing violence perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations, gangs, and other criminal
groups is threatening citizen security in Mexico and Central America. Drug-related violence
claimed more than 5,300 lives in Mexico in 2008, and several Central American countries have
some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Mexican drug cartels dominate the illicit drug
market in most regions of the United States and are expanding their operations by forming
partnerships with U.S. gangs.
