Three U.S. states bordering Mexico on Tuesday urged the federal government to give them more funding to stop drug trafficking at the border.

In a letter sent to the Department of Defense, governors of California, New Mexico and Arizona said there was growing risk from coordination between the drug cartels, human smuggling networks and criminal gangs who operate on the streets of the United States and within the U.S. prisons.

It is estimated that 60 percent of the illicit drugs that enter the United States pass through the Southwest border, said the letter.

"Illicit drug trafficking isn't the only threat - drug cartels use terrorism to further their trade and terrorist organizations in turn use the drug trade to finance their own operations," said the letter.

"With this clear and dangerous connection, it is more important than ever to establish a strong working relationship between the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the governors of the Southwest border states," the letter noted.

Given this fact, the Fiscal Year 2007 Department of Defense ( DOD) appropriations bill recently signed into law provides 20 million dollars in new and additional money to the National Guard Counter-Drug Program and an additional 5.2 million dollars specifically directed towards counter-drug efforts along the Southwestern border.

Source: Xinhua