MEXICO CITY — A first-ever study targeting the exorbitant wealth of Mexico’s drug lords shows more than half the money smuggled out of the U.S. each year is cash that never passes through a bank, making it nearly invisible to law enforcement.
That cash is either stashed away or directly spent in Mexico, where 75 percent of business is done in cash. Drug moguls can buy real estate, cars, airline tickets and just about everything else in cash, allowing their businesses to launder an estimated $19 billion to $29 billion earned each year selling cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana in the U.S.
In the U.S., by contrast, just 20 percent of all transactions are conducted in cash.
John Morton, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant secretary, unveiled the findings Wednesday in Mexico City.
The study, conducted by U.S. and Mexican government agencies, suggests law enforcement agents interested in breaking up drug gangs should target cartel treasurers in Mexico who supervise the movement of the cash.
