Based on my research from multiple reliable sources, I can verify the claim:

Analysis

• Drug trafficking organizations are "awash in cash" and earn between $19 and $29 billion annually from U.S. drug sales, requiring extensive money laundering operations to process these cash proceeds¹²
• A U.S. Attorney stated: "The lifeblood of any drug trafficking organization is the uninterrupted flow of cash," describing how cartels direct money couriers to collect cash drug proceeds in numerous U.S. cities³
• Mexican cartels historically "smuggled truckloads of bulk cash to Mexico" to move drug money across borders⁴
• Cartels employ elaborate money laundering schemes including "structuring" - depositing amounts smaller than $10,000 to avoid reporting regulations - which is described as "the most direct way to get money into a U.S. bank account"²
• Cartels face significant challenges managing their cash, with the Sinaloa cartel making "so much money that one of its biggest challenges is finding ways to convert that revenue into usable currency"²
• U.S. authorities have implemented new financial reporting rules specifically targeting cartel cash transactions, including lowering reporting thresholds to $200 in border regions to intercept small-dollar transactions that criminal organizations exploit⁵

The claim is accurate - cash is fundamental to cartel operations because drug sales are primarily conducted in cash at the street level, and cartels must develop sophisticated infrastructure to handle, move, and launder these cash proceeds.

Overall validity: 95%

1. Awash In Cash, Drug Cartels Rely On Big Banks To Launder Profits
2. Money Laundering Methods | Capture of El Chapo
3. Two Mexican Nationals Sentenced for Roles in Black Market Peso ...
4. The Gangster Who Changed Money Laundering - ProPublica
5. New $200 Rule: U.S. border AML crackdown aims to disrupt cartel ...