I have written before on the dying city which is Ciudad Juarez, directly opposite the not-quite-Heaven-but-definitely-not-Hell which is El Paso. As a personal response to the violence – and specifically that against the women of the city – last October, 20 year old Marisol Valles Garcia was declared Mexico’s bravest woman when she accepted the role of Police chief for Praxedis Guadelope Guerrero in the Juarez municipality.
Rather unsurprisingly, Valles Garcia became the target for intimidation and revenge by the narco-gangs terrorizing the area. Fortunately, this has not extended to the murders of her or her baby, but it is now being reported that she has fled and is seeking asylum across the border in America.
This comes as the new Police chief for Juarez is threatened with a message tied to a torture victim on his second day in the post. Julian Leyzaola Perez, however, is a veteran of the Tiujana drugs-wars so is not standing down yet.
