Dark imagery associated with the Mexican drug prohibition war, including images of the unofficial patron saints of death and smuggling, are showing up north of the border, a sign of the drug trafficking organizations' growing influence among American smuggling networks, a U.S. marshal said. Images of the skeletal black-robed figure of Santa Muerte, the Death Saint, are showing up in areas that don't have large Mexican populations, said Robert Almonte. He is traveling the country instructing law enforcement officials about Mexican folk icons associated with the drug prohibition war, hoping to raise "red flags so they will know that if they see some of this, they will be more cautious."
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