For decades, drug lords with names like "El Chapo" and "El Mencho" have been the poster boys of the US fight against Mexican drug trafficking. The US Treasury recently accused cartels of "increasingly using (their) illicit profits to make cash payments to Mexican political campaigns." US authorities may also now be in a better position than ever to prosecute politicians who assist organized crime groups. While following the money may be difficult, there are other signs of the growing role of organized crime in politics. The allegation was just part of a drumbeat of US criticism over the cartels' political protection rackets.