As the United States tightens security at its borders in response to the September terror attacks, illegal drugs are piling up in Central America and traffickers are finding new consumers in what were once known as producer countries.
Long a transit country where drugs passed through to an insatiable US market, Mexico has seen addictions to hard drugs skyrocket over the past decade. Now addicts are congregating in border towns where drugs are widely available and law enforcement often looks the other way.

“The drugs have to follow one of two routes,” said Dr Guido Belsasso, head of Mexico's National Council on Addictions.
“Either they build up in Mexico, to a lesser extent, and in Guatemala, where reports indicate a large quantity of drugs are piling up, or the traffickers look to other routes, in the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific,” Belsasso said. Guatemalan authorities had no immediate comment.
Some worry with US coast guard patrol boats pulled back to protect American ports following attacks, traffickers may return to pacific coast - once a favourite route.
Bureau Report