Pubdate: Fri, 11 Sep 2009 Source: Chicago Tribune (IL) Copyright: 2009 Chicago Tribune Company Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82 Author: Oscar Avila, Tribune reporter Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/Mexico MEXICO'S AMBASSADOR UPBEAT ABOUT COUNTRY'S FUTURE Sarukhan Aims to Reassure Potential Tourists on Concerns About Violence and Flu Mexico's top diplomat in the U.S. came to Chicago Thursday as part of an effort to rebuild his country's brand, battered as the country became known as home of the H1N1 flu virus, devastating drug-related violence and, most recently, the hijacking of a commercial flight from sunny Cancun. "I joke that all we need are toads falling from the sky," Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan told the Tribune editorial board during a discussion of narco-trafficking and other issues. Sarukhan tried to reassure potential tourists by insisting that drug-linked violence does not pose a threat to most foreign visitors. He said it is largely confined in three cities: Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana and Culiacan. He said about 80 percent of the 11,000 people killed since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 were drug traffickers killed by the government or rival criminals. But he said he was not trying to downplay the serious threat facing Mexico. Just weeks after federal prosecutors in Chicago unveiled the largest drug conspiracy indictment in the city's history -- tied to Mexican drug cartels that import tons of cocaine -- Sarukhan said it is in Americans' self-interest to stem the flow of illegal guns and money into Mexico. Sarukhan took exception to the perception that Mexico's drug problem is spilling over the U.S. border. "There is no spillover because the drug syndicates already are here," he said. "I don't know if they are Mexican or if they have any nationality." Sarukhan met with Mayor Richard Daley and other elected officials in addition to making pitches to business leaders to change "the narrative that has developed in the United States about Mexico." Sarukhan said tourism is nearly back to normal after the U.S. government warned against visiting Mexico in the wake of the H1N1 flu outbreak this spring. And he defended the Mexico's handling of the hijacking of an AeroMexico jet on Wednesday. He said it showed the country ready to handle terrorist situations, despite a breach that allowed a Bolivian to bring aboard a juice can and claim it was a bomb. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake