Mexican drug cartels have spread to "our own backyards," Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday as he announced a dozen new indictments aimed at capturing suspected kingpins so they can stand trial in United States courts.

The indictments of 10 alleged bosses of the cartels and 33 other suspects expand previous US efforts to decapitate the cartels' senior leadership.

First, though, they must be caught. The accused cartel leaders indicted Thursday are wanted in Mexico, and some have been sought by Mexican and US law enforcement for years. Prosecutors say that the rings generated nearly $6 billion in drug profits.

"The criminal conduct alleged in these indictments did not take place solely in Mexico. Rather, it played right out here in our own backyards," said Holder.

Investigators say the suspects used almost every type of transportation imaginable to move the drugs: a Boeing 747 cargo plane, submarines and semi-submersibles, container ships, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, and tractor-trailers.

The attorney general said he expects the cartel leaders will eventually "be here in the United States and they will face justice," adding that the indictments are not symbolic acts but a sign the US government is aggressively hunting the cartels.