Trafficking of illegal drugs including meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana have been dominant throughout the United States. Based on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary, there are currently no organizations with the power and infrastructure to defy their dominance over the U.S. market.

According to "Gangster Warlords" author Ioan Grillo, narcotics are currently the highest black market earner, noting its estimated worth of over $300 billion annually. He also added that the global industry has hauled large resources into "criminal empires" for decades.

The DEA report also named seven Mexican cartels that controlled the entire illicit drug market in the United States. While several criminal organizations have risen and fallen over the past decades, Business Insider listed 7 most powerful Mexican cartels that currently reign America's drug market.

1. Beltran-Leyva Organization (BLO)

The organization's founders, the Beltran-Leyva brothers, were important members of the Sinaloa cartel. They helped run the cartel following Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's arrest in 1993.

Unfortunately, the apparent betrayal of El Chapo to one of the BLO brothers led to a split and gory bloodbath between the former allies. Today, BLO is known as an expert at corrupting public officials.

2. Juarez Cartel

One of Mexico's oldest and most dominant trafficking organization, Juarez cartel has taken its hold in Ciudad Juarez in the north-central Chihuahua State of Mexico. It is responsible for smuggling tons of narcotics from Mexico into the United States.

The cartel has initially concentrated on drug trafficking. However, it has expanded into other criminal activities such as human trafficking, kidnapping, local drug distribution and extortion.

3. Knights Templar Cartel (LCT)

Formed in 2010 by former school teacher Servando "La Tuta" Gomez Martinez, the organization controls drug trafficking in Portland, Oregon and Birmingham, Alabama. According to The Telegraph, the group is mostly active in the state of Michoacán, particularly the city of Apatzingan. But it also has a presence in other central Mexican states.

4. Zetas

Described as "the most technologically advanced, sophisticated and violent of these paramilitary enforcement groups," Zetas are known to use military-grade force to take control of territory and overwhelm their enemies.

5. Gulf Cartel

One of Mexico's oldest and most powerful criminal groups, the Gulf cartel controls a lucrative smuggling corridor along the US-Mexico border into Texas. It is based in eastern Mexico, along the Gulf Coast states.

6. Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)

One of the fastest-growing and most powerful cartels in Mexico, CJNG is helmed by kingpin Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguerra Cervantes. The group is known for its aggressive use of violence and its public relations campaigns.

7. Sinaloa Cartel

Generally regarded as the most powerful and wealthiest drug cartel in Mexico and in the world, the organization is under the leadership of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.

The cartel dominated Chicago after it supplied large quantities of drugs to the city and the region around it. But its influence has expanded from New York City to Buenos Aires and almost every major city in between. Today, it operates in 17 Mexican states and 50 countries.