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Mexico is one of the worst countries in the world for abductions, along with conflict zones like Iraq and Colombia.

Law enforcement officials say Asians, Russians and Albanians have established their own crime organizations in the United States. These groups are smaller and more disorganized than their Italian counterparts but pose their own danger.

Kevin Hallinan, an FBI supervisor who has worked organized crime for 18 years, said that groups of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese nationals, for example, are heavily involved in immigrant-smuggling, gambling, prostitution, counterfeiting and extortion of legitimate businesses as well as other crimes.

"Drugs are a serious problem

Last year, there were more than 2,500 drug killings across Mexico and over 1,100 people have died this year as the drug gangs fight each other and the security forces.

Earlier this week, drug hitmen killed Saul Pena, a senior police officer in Ciudad Juarez, even though the army had deployed troops in the violent city across the border from El Paso, Texas.

In a single day, thousands of cars and trucks enter the United States from Tamaulipas alone. Enough cocaine to supply American demand for a year, a market worth some $35 billion, might fill a dozen or so tractor-trailers.