Pubdate: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News (CO) Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371 BAJA CALIFORNIA TOURISM SECRETARY DISPUTES DRUG LINK A Treasury Department list of businesses with alleged links to drug traffickers includes a company owned by the family of the tourism secretary for the Mexican state of Baja California. Tourism Secretary Alejandro Moreno denied Friday that his family's parking garage business has been used to launder money for a Mexican drug cartel and said he would open the company's records to U.S. authorities to prove the allegations are untrue. "I'm confident that the family name will be completely cleared when the facts of this situation come to light," Moreno said in a statement released through a San Diego public relations firm. Moreno, a prominent businessman in Tijuana, Mexico, was appointed tourism secretary in the border state by Gov. Eugenio Elorduy, who was elected in July. His family's company, Valpark S.A., was included on a list of 12 businesses and 15 individuals that Treasury Department officials said Thursday had laundered drug proceeds or acted as agents or fronts for the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix drug cartel or Caribbean drug kingpin Glenroy Matthew. The list also includes the Oasis Beach Resort, a large, domed hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Rosarito Beach, as well as a Baja California drug store chain, real estate firm and two electronic security system companies. The Treasury Department ordered U.S. banks to freeze any assets belonging to the businesses found in the United States and barred the firms from doing business in this country. In response, a top Mexican prosecutor said his country's Justice Department is waiting to see U.S. evidence against those named in the list before taking any action. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager