He says his deputies are dealing with a spike in drugs, and he says that the drug cartels are behind at least one murder in town.

Deputies say 53-year-old Danny Baca was shot more than 20 times out on the West Mesa before his body was burned. Authorities believe it was all a result of Baca double-crossing one of the Mexican cartels in Juarez, Investigators say Baca took a load of marijuana to Albuquerque instead of dropping it off in El Paso.

Sheriff White says that is just one of many examples of how the surge in violence across the border has spilled over to the Albuquerque-area.

"Right now, believe me, I'm not pleased, and i'm not going to sit here and paint some rosy picture because it's just not there. There is a high amount of violence in our city and our state, and much of it has to do with drugs and that is directly connected to the cartels," White said.

White calls it an endless, frustrating problem for law enforcement.

"We're not seeing a reduction in the amount of drugs that are coming in, we're seeing more," White said.

White says drug runners are being busted on a weekly basis on Albuquerque highways.

Earlier this year, a man in Rio Rancho was arrested, along with 11 others, for dealing meth. White says the man was directly linked to the Mexican cartels.

“We're dealing with a very large problem and, unfortunately, we share that border and we are going to see some of that collateral damage, regrettably, and unfortunately, it's blood that's shed because of it," White said.

White says Albuquerque is not the only U.S. city feeling the effects of the drug war. He says right now, the city with the largest number of drug-related kidnappings, second only to Mexico City, is Phoenix.