Standing alongside Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a brief visit to Guadalajara, Mexico, U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday spoke to North America's united fight against swine flu, climate change, drugs, guns, and human rights abuses. Speaking at the Cabanas Cultural Center in Mexico, Obama said that he and the leaders, who met in private ahead of the comments, agreed to “aggressive, coordinated action” to restore growth across North America. Obama also backed Calderon and his efforts to take on drug cartels during a war on drugs and guns. Obama said he had great confidence that under Calderon “human rights will be observed.” Calderon said the Mexican government has an “absolute and categorical” commitment to human rights. The public statements, which were followed by a press conference, came after the release of a joint statement, where the leaders pledged a united effort on economic recovery, trade, swine flu and climate change. A statement from the leaders said their nations offered a “joint, responsible and transparent” response to the spreading swine flu threat, which seemingly stemmed from Mexico.
