By Michel Marizco
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kunm/local-kunm-970001.mp3
Culiacan, MX – The cartels make billions of dollars on the drug trade. But they have to work out complicated schemes to get those dollars back into Mexico and convert them into usable pesos. It's a lot of money and money can overcome lots of challenges.
A recent investigation by U.S. authorities found that between 2004 and 2007, one large U.S. bank allowed nearly a half trillion dollars of drug money to be wired through its systems, no questions asked.
Some of the biggest depositors of that money are Mexico's cartels. Reporter Michel Marizco from the Fronteras Changing America Desk traveled to Culiacan in Mexico to explain how it works.
Fronteras: The Drug War At Home