Investigating Mexican Drug Gangs
The BBC has a report on the Mexican Drug Cartels.
Estimates by the US Drug Enforcement Agency suggest the drugs trade is worth $20bn (£10.3bn) a year.
US law enforcement agencies are now heavily involved in trying to help the Mexicans control the violence.
But Americans are playing another role in the conflict.
More than 90% of weapons used by the cartels originate in the US and there is evidence US citizens are joining the gangs to act as hitmen and women.
We went to a gun shop in the US that had sold a weapon subsequently found in Mexico during an anti-drugs operation.
The owner was shocked when told that the police had traced it via its serial number to his store.
“I’m surprised,” he said, “But it’s people that kill people, not guns.”
It is also people that smuggle the guns into Mexico.
