The 2,000-mile border between the United States and Mexico poses significant challenges to U.S. law enforcement. Mexican cartels operating human, drug and gun smuggling rings along the southwest border are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous. These cartels are equipped with military grade weapons, intelligence and technology, have amassed enormous wealth and power, and are becoming increasingly violent. They are responsible for more than 22,700 killings in Mexico since 2007.
Attorney General Goddard believes the cartels represent the most immediate threat to our border security. Moreover, most illegal immigration into Arizona is made possible by organized human smugglers associated with the Mexican criminal cartels. Attorney General Goddard has made the fight against the cartels his highest law enforcement priority. He is the first state Attorney General in the nation to track the flow of money to the cartels and seize their ill-gotten gains. In February, he won an historic $94 million recovery from Western Union which will provide over $50 million to law enforcement along the entire southwest border to strengthen the fight against cartel-related crime.
The Attorney General recently testified before Congress and has written letters to President Obama on this issue, calling on the President to significantly strengthen the federal fight against cartels. These letters can be viewed here.
