WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) -- The Obama administration is painting a grim picture of the fight against drug trafficking in Mexico .A State Department report says Mexico 's president is taking "courageous" and "unprecedented" steps against the drug trade, but says the effort is still plagued by corruption.
And it says spiraling drug violence in Mexico , along with trafficking elsewhere in Latin America and a thriving opium trade in Afghanistan , poses significant national security threats to the United States .
The fight between authorities and drug cartels in Mexico killed more than 6,000 people last year and more than 1,000 so far this year.
The violence has spilled into the U.S. The report noted an increase in contract killings and kidnappings on U.S. soil carried out by Mexican drug cartels.
Mexico is the main transit point for cocaine entering the U.S. It's also a source for much of the heroin, marijuana and meth consumed in the U.S.
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