SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- President Barack Obama came to Latin America eager to move the region's relationship with the United States beyond fighting drugs and organized crime, yet the pervasive problems still trailed him throughout his three-day trip to Mexico and Costa Rica.

In the Costa Rican capital Friday, Obama defended his administration's efforts to stem U.S. demand for drugs that many regional leaders see as a driving factor in their security issues. He said the United States and Latin America share "common effects and common responsibilities" for the troubles and argued that his country has suffered from the drug epidemic as well.

"There's a cost obviously in the United States as well," Obama said during a joint news conference with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. "It's not as if we don't have tragic drug problems in the United States." The president singled out the violence that has raged in his hometown of Chicago, where the murder rate has soared, saying there are young people killed there "every day as part of the drug trade."

In both Mexico and Costa Rica, Obama cast economic growth as the best way to combat violence and keep drugs and organized crime from taking hold of another generation.

"We have to make sure that everybody feels opportunity," the president declared in Costa Rica. "Even in countries that are doing well, the scourge of drugs and drug trafficking will still be there. And there still needs to be a strong law enforcement component. But we can do better than we are currently doing." The president had sounded a similar message earlier yesterday in Mexico, which he touted as a nation ready to take "its rightful place in the world." During a speech to students, he urged Mexico's young people to help the region move beyond "old stereotypes" and highlighted developments in technology and manufacturing.

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Everything you need to know about Election Day and more from NewsdayTV

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