Marisol Valles Garcia
Encyclopedia
Marisol Valles García is the former police chief of Praxedis G. Guerrero located in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua near the cities of Ciudad Juárez
and Guadalupe. In March 2011, she was dismissed from her post after failing to show up for work. Valles and her family apparently have fled to the United States where they are currently seeking asylum.
declared war on drug cartels in 2006, the country's death toll related to drug crime has been around 30,000. Mayors and police have been specifically targeted; some beheaded, some tortured to death.
In early October 2010, Tancítaro
's mayor Gustavo Sánchez was found beaten to death with his hands tied behind his back. Elected in January, he'd stated "The fear is always there, but if you have courage and a desire to make a contribution, that outweighs the fear".
was a quiet town. Two rival drug gangs, the Juárez Cartel
and the Sinaloa Cartel
, now fight for control of the region's main highway, making Chihuahua one of the most dangerous places in the world. Residents hide in houses from fear of violence and death. In nearby Ciudad Juárez in October 2010, a gang killed over a dozen people, including children, at a birthday party. Several police officers in Ciudad Juárez have been abducted or killed, and Praxedis G. Guerrero's previous chief, Manuel Castro, had been tortured and beheaded a year earlier.
at the University of Guadalajara
, was the only person willing to accept the job. She was sworn in on 18 October 2010. This attracted international attention, and has prompted news media to call her the "bravest woman in Mexico".
The district has 9,148 inhabitants, and a police force of nineteen. Valles Garcia said she intended to hire more women, and focus on community outreach and prevention. In neighboring Juárez, she was referred to by locals with the iconic nickname "La Adelita
".
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
and Guadalupe. In March 2011, she was dismissed from her post after failing to show up for work. Valles and her family apparently have fled to the United States where they are currently seeking asylum.
Background
Since Mexican President Felipe CalderónFelipe Calderón
Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...
declared war on drug cartels in 2006, the country's death toll related to drug crime has been around 30,000. Mayors and police have been specifically targeted; some beheaded, some tortured to death.
In early October 2010, Tancítaro
Tancítaro
Tancítaro is a municipality in the western part of the Mexican state of Michoacán. The municipality has an area of 717.65 square kilometres and is bordered to the north by the municipalities of Peribán and Uruapan, to the east by Nuevo Parangaricutiro, to southeast by Parácuaro, to the south by...
's mayor Gustavo Sánchez was found beaten to death with his hands tied behind his back. Elected in January, he'd stated "The fear is always there, but if you have courage and a desire to make a contribution, that outweighs the fear".
Praxedis G. Guerrero valley
Prior to the war on drugs, rural Praxedis G. Guerrero, ChihuahuaPráxedis G. Guerrero, Chihuahua
Práxedis Gilberto Guerrero http://www.mpiopraxedisguerrero.gob.mx is the municipal seat of the municipality of Práxedis G. Guerrero in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua.In the 2005 Census, the town reported a population of 3,431...
was a quiet town. Two rival drug gangs, the Juárez Cartel
Juárez Cartel
The Juárez Cartel , also known as the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization, is a Mexican drug cartel based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, across the border from El Paso, Texas...
and the Sinaloa Cartel
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the United States Intelligence Community as "the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world." The Sinaloa Cartel is based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, but also operates in the Mexican states of Baja...
, now fight for control of the region's main highway, making Chihuahua one of the most dangerous places in the world. Residents hide in houses from fear of violence and death. In nearby Ciudad Juárez in October 2010, a gang killed over a dozen people, including children, at a birthday party. Several police officers in Ciudad Juárez have been abducted or killed, and Praxedis G. Guerrero's previous chief, Manuel Castro, had been tortured and beheaded a year earlier.
Search for a police chief
With all but three police officers having quit, mayor José Luis Guerrero desperately sought solutions. After a year without a police chief, 20-year-old Marisol Valles Garcia, who was a student working on a degree in criminologyCriminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
at the University of Guadalajara
University of Guadalajara
University of Guadalajara is a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. It is the second oldest university in Mexico, the fifth oldest in North America and the fourteenth oldest in Latin America...
, was the only person willing to accept the job. She was sworn in on 18 October 2010. This attracted international attention, and has prompted news media to call her the "bravest woman in Mexico".
Personal life and views
Valles Garcia is married and the mother of a baby boy. She reportedly took the job to change her community. "We're all afraid in Mexico now. We can't let fear beat us", she said after being sworn in.The district has 9,148 inhabitants, and a police force of nineteen. Valles Garcia said she intended to hire more women, and focus on community outreach and prevention. In neighboring Juárez, she was referred to by locals with the iconic nickname "La Adelita
La Adelita
"La Adelita" is one of the most famous corridos to come out of the Mexican Revolution. It is the story of a young woman in love with a sergeant who travels with him and his regiment....
".
External links
- Mejor estar viva en EU que muerta en México: Marisol Valles El Diario de El Paso, 05-11-2011.