(NewsNation) — Two powerful Mexican drug cartels are not only operating fentanyl and other illicit drug markets in all 50 U.S. states, but have also successfully eliminated their drug-dealing competition using violence and other means, according to a report issued by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of the deadliest drug threat that the U.S. has ever faced, the federal report said. Federal officials have reported that 200 U.S. deaths are linked to fentanyl each day and that 38,000 deaths tied to the drug were reported in the first six months of 2023 alone.

But the two transnational criminal organizations have not only infiltrated states along the U.S. southern border with drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine. They have also taken the major distribution of the dangerous substances from local drug dealers and gangs in states like Florida, Illinois and New York by manufacturing their product by the ton.

More concerning, perhaps, is that the powerful cartels have taken a foothold in unexpected places like Mississippi, Montana and Wyoming, expanding the footprint of the two criminal organizations while taking charge of how fentanyl and other drugs are distributed.

Both organizations rely on major drug wholesalers and established trafficking routes to get into major U.S. cities. They also use smaller branches of the cartels to work with local drug trafficking groups........

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