SINALOA TOURISM OFFICIALS COPING WITH TOUGH TASK

Violence And Picture Postcards Do Not Mix.

Which is why we should pity the poor tourism officials in Sinaloa, a
northwestern state in Mexico. They have to tout the virtues of the
area, which are probably plentiful. But they also have to contend with
the negatives, which -- sadly -- are also plentiful.

Sinaloa is home to one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico.
The cartel was behind the recent 20-ton cocaine shipment seized by the
U.S. Coast Guard off the Pacific Coast of Panama, officials told the
Associated Press. And it is responsible for about 600 drug-related
slayings a year, according to news reports.

Not exactly an idyllic vacation spot. Or is it? Antonio Ibarra, the
tourism minister for the state, is trying to focus on attractions such
as the beach resort of Mazatlan.

"Every well-paid job we create gives people an alternative, a decent
life," he told Reuters recently, adding that providing jobs in the
tourism industry lures people away from illegal activities.

Ibarra also said that the drug violence occurs between warring gangs,
rarely spilling over into the lives of ordinary people.

"This is not terrorism," he said. "It's drug trafficking. The security
problem is between them (the drug gangs)."

Violence is rarely so tidy, however. Sometimes, it does spill over.
Soldiers recently opened fire on a truck that refused to stop at a
roadblock in Sinaloa, killing two women and three children. Police
told the daily newspaper Reforma that the victims were members of two
families heading to a funeral near the Sinaloa-Chihuahua border.

Ibarra has an unenviable task, and he may be doing the best he can.
But Sinaloa is not Club Med. And would-be tourists need to know that.