ROME — A U.S. official said the southern Italian region of Calabria would be a "failed state" were it not part of Italy because of the pervasive grip of the 'ndrangheta organized crime syndicate on the economy and every aspect of life.

In a confidential cable released Thursday by WikiLeaks, the diplomat said the region's ineffective and corrupt politicians, corrupt port officials and woefully unmanned prosecutors' offices only added to the sense of Calabria's lawlessness and hopelessness.

The cable, one of five Mafia-related documents released, dates from December 2008, before the government began a major crackdown on the 'ndrangheta that has resulted in hundreds of arrests, millions of euros (dollars) in seized assets and a handful of rare turncoats.

Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, in office starting in May 2008 after Premier Silvio Berlusconi came to power, pointed to the progress since then in dismissing the significance of the cables from the U.S. consular office in Naples.