CALDERON, OBAMA VOW TO BATTLE DRUG CARTELS

First Trip by U. S. President to Mexico in 12 Years

Barack Obama, the U. S. President, and Mexican leader Felipe Calderon
vowed to tackle Mexico's violent drug cartels together at the start
of Mr. Obama's brief, but symbolic first visit south of the border.

It was also his first trip to Latin America since taking office in
January and the first to Mexico by a U. S. president in 12 years.

He was greeted by a sea of screaming schoolchildren, waving U. S. and
Mexican flags, at the presidential residence Los Pinos, before talks
with Mr. Calderon, who has gambled his presidency on the battle
against traffickers.

"At a time when the Mexican government has so courageously taken on
the drug cartels that have plagued both sides of the border, it is
absolutely critical that the United States joins as a full partner in
dealing with this issue ... also on our side of the border in dealing
with the flow of guns and cash south," Mr. Obama said.

On the eve of his visit, Mr. Obama slapped sanctions on three drug
cartels and named a top U. S. official to stiffen enforcement on the
southern border.

Last month, he announced extra agents and also vowed to staunch U. S.
demand for drugs.

Mr. Calderon called for "a new era in which the fight against crime
will be fully assumed as a shared responsibility."

"Mr. President, let's build a new era, yes we can," said Mr.
Calderon, who has deployed tens of thousands of troops across the
country to take on the cartels.

About 7,000 people have died since the start of last year in violence
between Mexican cartels and security forces that is spilling across
the U. S. border.

In the latest mayhem, 16 people died in a shootout between suspected
drug hit-men and soldiers in Guerrero, southwest Mexico, late Wednesday.

Mr. Obama also pledged cooperation in the face of the economic crisis
and on climate change, poverty and terrorism.

He paid homage to everything Mexicans have brought to the United
States, where about 12 million of them now live, and noted in his
hometown Chicago at least one third of the population has some
origins in Mexico.

Mr. Obama's trip follows a wave of high-level U. S. visits to the
country, marking a shift in the U. S. stance toward Mexico and its
trafficking problem, since he took office in January.

The U. S. President and his top officials have acknowledged that --
as the world's largest consumer of cocaine -- the U. S. shares
responsibility for Mexican gang activity.

The U. S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms estimates 90% of
weapons confiscated in Mexico come from the United States.

Trade relations have been tense since Mexico last month slapped
US$2.4-billion in tariffs on 89 U. S. products, after Washington
cancelled a program authorizing some Mexican trucks to operate in the
United States.