AMBASSADOR'S LABEL INACCURATE

Re: "Choose labels carefully," by Arturo Sarukhan, Tuesday Letters.

I was stunned to see the Ambassador of Mexico argue drug cartels are
not terrorists, but merely "criminal organizations" that simply want
"to maximize their profits." To argue over labeling is one thing. To
insinuate the drug cartels are like any other business and to
metaphorically compare them to entrepreneurs is shocking and
tragically irresponsible. As The Dallas Morning News accurately put
it, the drug cartels are terrorist organizations defined not by an
ideology, but by tactics of brutality and fear. It's inconceivable
this appointed leader would dismiss a threat that is tearing apart
his nation. A person of Sarukhan's status should be more careful than
to make such ludicrous parallels between business and terrorism.

The violent perpetrators who are filling mass graves with victims,
beheading them and burning them alive are not simply criminal
businessmen. They are terrorists. The violent realities are occurring
right here in Texas and other border states as is documented on our
website www.protectyourTexasborder.com but are being ignored by the
current administration.

Sarukhan's comments are reprehensible, and we should demand a public
retraction. If not, the United States should send him packing by
rescinding his diplomatic status in our country.

Todd Staples, Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Austin