President Donald Trump vowed to combat drug trafficking organizations and the opioid crisis, but a new report details how his extensive cuts to staff and programs targeting environmental crimes are hindering those efforts.

Illegal gold mining, one of the most ruinous environmental crimes, is filling the coffers of transnational drug organizations, generating more money than the drug trade in some countries, according to research from the nonpartisan Financial Accountability & Corporate Transparency Coalition.

The report warns that the illegal gold trade in the Americas threatens the integrity of the U.S. financial system, undermines regional security and provides funding for drug traffickers and other criminal organizations. That allows these groups to carry out operations that endanger

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