Whack-a-mole: Mexican Drug Cartels Move Into Central America

More details on how the cartels are taking over Central America

Mexican Drug Cartels Move Into Central America - NYTimes.com: "Mexican drug cartels now operate virtually uninhibited in their Central American backyard. U.S.-supported crackdowns in Mexico and Colombia have only pushed traffickers into a region where corruption is rampant, borders lack even minimal immigration control and local gangs provide a ready-made infrastructure for organized crime.

"The cartels are clear on the possibilities for using El Salvador as a place to launder money or to transport it south to pay for their drugs," National Police deputy director Howard Cotto told The Associated Press in an interview. ...

While the U.S. and Mexico focus on gunrunning on their shared border, arms trafficking thrives in Guatemala, a country that doesn't manufacture a single firearm. There is even evidence that guns are brought from the U.S. into Guatemala and then smuggled into Mexico, in an example of reverse trafficking from south to north, one U.S. government official said.

The White House says the president, scheduled to be in El Salvador March 22 and 23, will talk about "regional and bilateral economic, clean energy, and citizen security cooperation initiatives." But other Central American countries say security is issue No. 1 and are baffled at White House plans for only a bilateral meeting." AP