According to the Associated Press, from 2007 to 2010 there were over 80 corruption related convictions of law enforcement officials at all levels of government along the Southwest border.

In addition, about 10 percent of all new hires in the US Border Patrol are given a lie detector test. Out of the 10 percent given the test, 60 percent are found to be unsuitable for hire.

Source:  Associated Press, “US Customs: Mexican cartels corrupt border agents,” Google News, March 11, 2010.

According to officials, in 2010 black tar heroin from Mexico accounted for two thirds of the heroin market in the United States.

Source:  Sam Quinones, “A lethal business model targets Middle America,” Los Angeles Times, February 14, 2010.

Cannabis cultivation in Mexico was nearly 30,000 acres in 2009, an increase of 35 percent from the previous year.

Source: “Marijuana cultivation up in Mexico in 2009 – US,” Reuters, March 1, 2010.

The International Narcotics Control Strategy Report published by the US State Department reported that 36,332 people were arrested in Mexico in 2009 in part of the ongoing anti-drug trafficking campaign.

Source: “Marijuana cultivation up in Mexico in 2009 – US,” Reuters, March 1, 2010.

Up to 200,000 residents of Mexican city Ciudad Juarez has left the city during within a 18 month period due to dangers and fears of the ongoing drug war.

Source: Julian Cardona, “Mexicans flee drug war city in fear of killings,” Reuters, February 18, 2010.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico reports that people in Mexico purchase counterfeit goods worth $75 Billion a year.

Source:  Jason Beaubien, “Pirated Goods Pose Huge Problems In Mexico,” NPR, February 16, 2010.

At the start of 2010, the US Justice Department found Mexican Drug Cartel operatives working in 195 cities across the United States.

In addition, researchers in Mexico has found links to the cartels in 47 different countries around the world.

Source:  Chris Hawley, “Drug cartels tighten grip; Mexico becoming ‘narco-state’,” Arizona Republic, February 7, 2010.

In 2008, there were 50,138 formal complaints to law enforcement in Mexico regarding phone extortion. Callers would normally demand ransom payments in order to return the listener’s child unharmed when in fact they did not have the child in their possession.

Out of the 50,138 formal complaints, 4,587 people paid the amount demanded by the callers.

Source:  Tracy Wilkinson, “Telephoned abduction claims bedeviling Mexico,” Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2010.