A new study by the Congressional Commission on Development of the Municipalities in Mexico says that drug trafficking groups control 8 percent of all the municipalities, or 71, according to EFE news agency. Another 63, or 195 of the 439 municipalities, are infiltrated by traffickers.

The traffickers, according to the president of the commission, Ramon Galindo, have found the weak spot of the government given the municipalities’ small budget, lack of infrastructure and close contact with the local people. Control of the town halls, the study said, helps the traffickers move and sell drugs, as well as kidnap and extort locals.

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