WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bloody war between Mexican drug cartels is no longer solely a south-of-the-border problem, members of Congress said Tuesday at a hearing on the issue. A member of the Mexican Federal Police patrols in Ciudad Juarez during a recent operation to fight drugs. The violence accompanying those battles has crept into the United States, and is believed to be largely fueled by money and guns from America, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois. "The drugs are coming north, and we're sending money and guns south," said Durbin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. "As a result, these cartels have gained extraordinary power."
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Senate subcommittee, caucus focus on ways to help Mexican leader's battle
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Mexican drug violence, fueled by U.S. guns, cash, is creeping north, senator says
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Most guns seized in raids traced to U.S.; 2,000 cross into Mexico daily, he says
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Authorities believe cartels have reached into 230 American cities, up from 50 in 2006
Also Tuesday, a federal firearms official told the subcommittee there has been a "troubling increase" in the number of hand-grenades seized from Mexican drug traffickers recently, and that officials are concerned violence involving explosives could spill into @placeholder border towns.