US Report cites cartels\' presence in region

The US State Department is reporting that drug traffickers are adapting to law enforcement pressures in Mexico by shifting their illicit operations to Central America and the Caribbean.



The State Department made that assertion yesterday in its annual survey of global counter-narcotics efforts.



The report cited growing evidence that Mexico\'s drug cartels are already establishing a presence in the south.



The department also identified 20 countries around the world as major drug transit or drug producing countries, including Jamaica, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.