Drug cartel's reach stretches across US

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mexican drug cartels are shipping more than massive quantities of drugs north of the border. Increasingly, they are also exporting bloody mayhem.

United States agents arrested more than 50 suspects in raids Tuesday night and Wednesday morning at different ends of the United States. The raids aim to stem the growing influence of the Sinaloa drug cartel within the United States.

The overnight roundup by the Drug Enforcement Administration and state and local police included arrests in California, Minnesota and the Maryland suburbs of Washington. In all, the 21-month operation by the DEA rounded up 755 suspects and seized more than $59 million in criminal proceeds.

The state department issued a travel warning Friday, urging U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico to be aware of the increased threat of violence and kidnapping, especially along the border. The situation in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, is of special concern.

It also issued an advisory on Spring Break in Mexico, where more than 100,000 U.S. citizens visit each year. The department warns of increased violence along the border. It advises revelers in Matamoros and Nuevo Progresso to "exercise common-sense precautions such as visiting only the well-traveled business and tourism areas of border towns during daylight and early evening hours." Matamoros and Nuevo Progresso are popular destinations for spring breakers on South Padre Island, Texas.

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