Posted: 5:46 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012

Relationship between Texas gangs and Mexican cartels evolving

By Bernadette Flores

El PASO, Texas. —

The relationship between Texas based gangs and Mexican cartels has grown from a street- level drug distribution system to a national operation.

"It's a relationship that existed for decades and it makes the job all the more difficult for law enforcement," said Congressman Sylvestre Reyes. Reyes has been battling them since his days in law enforcement.

"Gangs on the U.S.. side have been working with cartels ever since Pablo Escobar and probably before that," he adds.

The El Paso based barrio azteca prison gang has been working with Juarez cartels for years now. Their members have been acting as both traffickers and enforcers. " You have to have people there and here to move and ship the drugs, " said Utep Political Science Professor, Tony Payan.

What has changed is their ability to move further into the United State, using all kinds of employees to help them along the way, says Payan.

"As the border closes become more difficult to cross the drugs, a lot of theses operation are going to move to the U.S," said Payan. He believes cartels are now looking for already established gangs all over the country, hoping to build new alliances with whoever they can.

"There's got to be people in El Paso that are colloborating -- your neighbor, a teacher, your gang member, " he said.

The one thing these collaborations must have in common is can they be used to avoid law enforcement.

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