The potential for public corruption is heightening in the United States amid increasing cartel influence due to exponential growth in cartel profits and unprecedented levels of human trafficking in the country, according to David DeVillers, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. 

DeVillers, who served as U.S. Attorney from 2019 to 2021 and now is employed as an attorney with Barnes and Thornburg, shed light on the evolving strategies of drug cartels, particularly the Sinaloa Cartel, and their impact on U.S. cities, noting Ohio is a crossroads for the drug trade fueled by cartel crime. 

“In Ohio, it's the Sinaloa Cartel that controls key destination cities like Dayton and Columbus,” DeVillers told Federal Newswire. “Columbus is strategically located, an hour from major cities like Cincinnati and Cleveland, making it an ideal hub for drug distribution.”

The tentacles of cartels have reached into public corruption in Ohio as well. 

DeVillers noted the story of Columbus Police Department officers caught up in drug activity. 

In May 2024, the FBI announced five officers from the former Columbus Police Drug Cartel Unit were under FBI investigation, following the arrests and convictions of several of colleagues for drug-related crimes including fentanyl theft and trafficking. 

Such public corruption fueled by cartel bribes of police and politicians in Mexico is rampant. 

DeVillers said that, unfortunately, it would not be difficult for cartels to get in the business of politics in the United States through establishing non-profit organizations. 

“501(c)4s, it is so easy to do that it's crazy,” he said. “You don't have to disclose your donors. It's tax exempt. If you just want to give them money. It takes $50 to open a 501(c)4 and you can buy a bunch of ads and tell your senator to reduce drug penalties or legalize fentanyl. Yeah, so that could easily happen.” 

The concern about growing public corruption is prescient given the situation in Mexico where it often reaches the highest levels of government. 

In 2010, U.S. DEA agents launched a controversial investigation into allegations that Mexican drug mafias had financed the presidential campaigns of Andrés Manuel López Obrador. 

López Obrador was later elected and has served as Mexico’s President since 2018. 

The probe aimed to uncover whether López Obrador, then a leading candidate, received illicit funds from drug traffickers, but was ultimately curtailed in late 2011 due to political pressures.

The recent revelations of the investigation have strained U.S.-Mexico relations and fueled skepticism about the extent of López Obrador’s ties to drug money. 

The fentanyl boom, in addition to the porous borders in the past five years, have coincided with López Obrador’s presidency. DeVillers said this success has changed the way cartels operate in the drug trade. 

He issued a stark warning about the dramatic increase in cartel profits and the alarming trends in drug-related deaths. 

"The profits for the cartels just blew up since 2020," he said. 

DeVillers noted since then, cartels have experienced a significant rise in their earnings and that drug policy changes and shifts in decriminalizing drugs and porous borders have provided unprecedented opportunities to expand their operations. 

He highlighted the dire consequences of these developments, particularly the devastating impact of fentanyl. 

"It was death. It was just so many people dying. I wish I had the numbers, but they were incredible," he said. 

DeVillers emphasized the need for stronger border control measures, suggesting that while a complete shutdown may not be feasible, significant improvements could help slow down the flow of illicit drugs. 

“We can shut down the border,” he asserted, “I think we’d slow it down. I think we can make it work.”

According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the Biden Administration’s immigration policies and Lopez Obrador’s open-border stance have significantly exacerbated the illegal migrant crisis, benefiting Mexican cartels financially and increasing human suffering. 

DeVillers has prosecuted high-profile cases, including that of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. As a member of the U.S. Attorney’s office he was known for his aggressive approach to combating gang violence and illegal firearms. 

During his time as U.S. Attorney DeVillers focused on enhancing federal efforts to disrupt illegal drug sales and prevent gun violence in the region.