(CNN) -- One of a small number of women who have filled a void by becoming police chiefs in violence-torn Mexico was gunned down Monday, authorities said.
Hermila Garcia, 38, became the top cop in the town of Meoqui just two months ago.
Gunmen attacked her as she drove to work by herself, authorities said.
Garcia was one of a handful of women who have taken leadership roles in police departments in cities and towns where men have stayed away because of fear.
One of the most high-profile women to take such an assignment is 20-year-old Marisol Valles Garcia, a student who became police chief of Praxedis G. Guerrero, also in the state of Chihuahua. (post # 32)
Hermila Garcia was a lawyer by profession and was single with no children.
Violence in Chihuahua is due to struggles between rival drug cartels over lucrative smuggling routes, as well as police operations against the cartels.
just for the record...i have NEVER believed little miss media whore.
at the zenith of her media appearances, including being on NBC, CBS, Fox News, CNN, HLN, local affiliates, radio programs, and being interviewed while out Christmas shopping on Black Friday in November, Tiffany Hartley was repeatedly asked about taking a polygraph. Her answers were consistently vague and non-committal, using many qualifiers. To date, she has refused to be polygraphed about what happened to David Hartley.
Tiffany Hartley has reason not to take a polygraph.
David Hartley was reported to have been murdered on September 39th. Within weeks, Tiffany announced that David would have wanted her to move on with her life, travel and enjoy herself. Her behavior as well as her lack of grieving, coupled with her insistence that she did not want justice, contributed to the public's call for a polygraph.
When confronted with the fact that Mexican officials did not believe her account, Tiffany said that they were entitled to their opinion and she understood how they might think that way.
stinking cockroaches.
2/12/11
(CNN) -- Gunmen opened fire Saturday in a downtown bar in the tourist district of Guadalajara, Mexico, killing six people and wounding another 37, the Jalisco state prosecutor said.
The suspects also threw a grenade into the bar after the shooting, state news agency Notimex reported. A Colombian and a Venezuelan are among the possible victims of the attack. Their nationalities were under investigation Saturday, Notimex reported.
Violence has escalated in Guadalajara, an economic and tourist hub in Mexico, which in recent weeks has seen a spate of killings and road blockades by organized criminals.
The wave of violence may be related to the dispute between drug cartels after the death of alleged cartel member Ignacio Nacho Coronel, who was killed last July in military operation. It has cast a pall on Guadalajara, picked to host the Pan American Games in October.
I had forgotten about this case. As far as I'm concerned, she's guilty until proven innocent. Ticks me off that she'll probably live her life w/out seeing the inside of a jail cell.
(01-19-2011, 07:47 PM)Lady Cop Wrote: just for the record...i have NEVER believed little miss media whore.
David Hartley was reported to have been murdered on September 39th. Within weeks, Tiffany announced that David would have wanted her to move on with her life, travel and enjoy herself. Her behavior as well as her lack of grieving, coupled with her insistence that she did not want justice, contributed to the public's call for a polygraph.
still not buying her story. this is PR as far as i'm concerned.
(CNN) -- Two additional suspects have surfaced in the fatal shooting of an American man on a lake that straddles the United States and Mexico last September, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez told CNN.
David Hartley was allegedly shot on the Mexican side of Falcon Lake. He and his wife, Tiffany, were on personal watercraft on the lake when gunmen opened fire on them, authorities say. The killing remains unsolved.
Gonzalez said officials would not release the new suspects' names.
"We're just waiting for more information. We understand that they were there, they participated in the shooting. They were given the orders to go kill (Tiffany) also," the sheriff said.
The new information, based on cooperation from informants, came to light last month, but is just now being released publicly.
Hartley's account of what happened has never changed. She and her husband were returning from touring a well known local landmark, the previously submerged town of Old Guerrero on the Mexican side of the border. They were about a mile from the town's well-known church when three boats approached. The men in the boats had guns and began to fire. David Hartley, his wife said, was shot in the head.
In the months since the attack, many doubts have been raised by law enforcement sources suggesting Tiffany Hartley's version of events does not ring true. Rumors persist that somehow, in some way, the Hartleys themselves were involved.
Gonzalez, who says he always believed Tiffany Hartley, said that the new information on the suspects corroborate her story.
The suspects are known Mexican drug traffickers and "do come over to Zapata County (Texas) every once in awhile. We're waiting to try and grab them when they're here," he said.
A factor hindering the investigation is that the shooting took place in Mexico. Mexican authorities have not publicacly provided any new leads since the investigator on the case was found dead.
The new revelations bring the total number of suspects in the case to four, Gonzalez said.
(02-28-2011, 05:53 PM)Lady Cop Wrote: [b]still not buying her story. this is PR as far as i'm concerned.
I was shocked when I read this online today. I too have always strongly felt that Miss Tiffany was involved. I guess I don't want to believe that my hinky meter could be that far off!!
(02-28-2011, 05:53 PM)Lady Cop Wrote: [b]still not buying her story. this is PR as far as i'm concerned.
I was shocked when I read this online today. I too have always strongly felt that Miss Tiffany was involved. I guess I don't want to believe that my hinky meter could be that far off!!
No doubt. I too have felt from the beginning this chick was guilty.
It's the hint of arsenic that gives it that extra kick.
IMO she's guilty with a capital G...perfect alibi for her. Noone in their right mind would go "sightseeing" in a location known for being in the crossfire of the drug wars happenig along our border (live in TX), especially on jet skis!!! The "pirates" if anything are going after boats potentially carrying drugs across the border, not someone on a jet ski...they don't fuck around and I'd imagine have pretty good marksmanship...which I'm sure Tiff is well aware given she an hubby's not only live 70 mi from the border but also resided in Mexico for three years. So I highly doubt they would shoot one in the head, sit back and allow time for their partner to try and lift the victim on a jet ski and then drive away to safe waters...pleeeaze, didn't happen. I just wonder who she was having affair with across the border??
(03-01-2011, 01:08 AM)curious Wrote: On a side note, glad we have aviators and user names on Mock b/c mine is quite popular in the crime world these days!!
i hope to hell this young woman isn't found beheaded! her dept. is mostly women and unarmed. i wish her all the luck she is going to need. maybe that macho culture will help her to stay safe. but i doubt it.
(CNN) -- Some headlines are hailing her as the bravest woman in Mexico. Marisol Valles Garcia, all of 20 years old, says she's just tired of everyone being afraid.
Valles Garcia, a criminology student, became the police chief this week of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent municipalities in the border state of Chihuahua. She was the only person who accepted the top job in a police force whose officers have been abducted and even killed.
"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia said Wednesday in an interview with CNN en Español. "It's like all human beings. There will always be fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility and security."
There's good reason for the fear. Just this past weekend, a 59-year-old local mayor, Rito Grado Serrano, and his 37-year-old son, Rogoberto Grado Villa, were killed in a house in which they they were hiding in nearby Ciudad Juarez. Another area mayor was killed in June.
Juarez is the bloodiest city in Mexico, with a reported 2,500 people killed in drug violence this year. Praxedis G. Guerrero is located about 35 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez. Both are in the state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas.
update:
A 20-year-old college student hired as police chief of a Mexican border town has left the job and fled to the United States after threats, an official said Friday.
Marisol Valles Garcia left the town of Praxedis G. Guerrero with her family, the El Diario newspaper cited Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas, an official investigating the threats, as saying.
Earlier a relative of hers had told AFP news service that she had "received death threats from a criminal group that wanted to force her to work for them."
She "went to the United States along with two relatives and will seek asylum," the relative said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Andres Morales, a spokesman for Praxedis G. Guerrero, said Valles Garcia was expected back at work on Monday after taking some time off to deal with family matters.
"Right now, these are rumors," he said of the asylum report, according to the El Paso Times.
But he acknowledged that Valles Garcia had gone to the United States, saying it was to seek medical treatment for her infant son, who has a lung ailment.
"If she doesn't return to work (on Monday) she could be removed," El Diario quoted Morales as saying, "though that would be up to the mayor."
Some reports said Valles Garcia left with her son and husband on Feb. 28, going across the border to Fort Hancock, Texas.
A U.S. Homeland Security spokesperson had no comment on the asylum report. "Asylum applications are confidential under immigration law," the official said, "and we may not discuss information regarding whether an individual has or has not filed an application."
Valles Garcia became police chief in Praxedis G. Guerrero — home to some 10,000 people — after two other job candidates dropped out following the killing of the mayor and his son.
edit to add:
Police chief Marisol Valles Garcia has been fired, an official in Praxedis G. Guerrero, Mexico, said Monday.
"Marisol did not show up for work this morning as she was expected," town secretary Andres Morales said. "Since she was on a personal leave that expired today and did not reach out to us over the weekend, she now faces termination. It is now an official matter. We don't know anything about her whereabouts. Our attempts to get a hold of her during the weekend were unsuccessful."
i hope to hell this young woman isn't found beheaded! her dept. is mostly women and unarmed. i wish her all the luck she is going to need. maybe that macho culture will help her to stay safe. but i doubt it.
(CNN) -- Some headlines are hailing her as the bravest woman in Mexico. Marisol Valles Garcia, all of 20 years old, says she's just tired of everyone being afraid.
Valles Garcia, a criminology student, became the police chief this week of Praxedis G. Guerrero, one of the most violent municipalities in the border state of Chihuahua. She was the only person who accepted the top job in a police force whose officers have been abducted and even killed.
"Yes, there is fear," Valles Garcia said Wednesday in an interview with CNN en Español. "It's like all human beings. There will always be fear, but what we want to achieve in our municipality is tranquility and security."
There's good reason for the fear. Just this past weekend, a 59-year-old local mayor, Rito Grado Serrano, and his 37-year-old son, Rogoberto Grado Villa, were killed in a house in which they they were hiding in nearby Ciudad Juarez. Another area mayor was killed in June.
Juarez is the bloodiest city in Mexico, with a reported 2,500 people killed in drug violence this year. Praxedis G. Guerrero is located about 35 miles southeast of Ciudad Juarez. Both are in the state of Chihuahua, which borders Texas.
update:
A 20-year-old college student hired as police chief of a Mexican border town has left the job and fled to the United States after threats, an official said Friday.
Marisol Valles Garcia left the town of Praxedis G. Guerrero with her family, the El Diario newspaper cited Jorge Gonzalez Nicolas, an official investigating the threats, as saying.
Earlier a relative of hers had told AFP news service that she had "received death threats from a criminal group that wanted to force her to work for them."
She "went to the United States along with two relatives and will seek asylum," the relative said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Andres Morales, a spokesman for Praxedis G. Guerrero, said Valles Garcia was expected back at work on Monday after taking some time off to deal with family matters.
"Right now, these are rumors," he said of the asylum report, according to the El Paso Times.
But he acknowledged that Valles Garcia had gone to the United States, saying it was to seek medical treatment for her infant son, who has a lung ailment.
"If she doesn't return to work (on Monday) she could be removed," El Diario quoted Morales as saying, "though that would be up to the mayor."
Some reports said Valles Garcia left with her son and husband on Feb. 28, going across the border to Fort Hancock, Texas.
A U.S. Homeland Security spokesperson had no comment on the asylum report. "Asylum applications are confidential under immigration law," the official said, "and we may not discuss information regarding whether an individual has or has not filed an application."
Valles Garcia became police chief in Praxedis G. Guerrero — home to some 10,000 people — after two other job candidates dropped out following the killing of the mayor and his son.
Interesting.
Somebody needs to do something down there -- Wyatt Earp style.
"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it." - George Bernard Shaw
none of my beeswax, but this woman should have moved her mother to the U.S. with her.
i guess her headless body will be found under a cactus somewhere.
FoxNews
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- Armed men kidnapped an American university professor while she was visiting her mother in the violent Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, the state prosecutor's office said Saturday.
The American was identified as Veronica Perez Rodriguez, an archeologist at Northern Arizona University.
A source at the Chihuahua state prosecutor's office said she was visiting her mother in Ciudad Juarez Friday afternoon "and the moment she left her family's house she was intercepted by armed men and deprived of her liberty."
Since 2003, Perez has been an associate professor of anthropology at the university in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Perez attended elementary, junior high, and high school in Ciudad Juarez, according to her resume, posted on the university's website. She is fluent in Spanish and English.
Perez, on her Northern Arizona University web page, describes herself as an ecological and environmental anthropologist and archeologist.
"My primary focus is the study of social complexity, urbanism, and its environmental impact in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca, Mexico," she wrote.
She earned two degrees from the University of Texas at El Paso and a doctorate in 2003 from the University of Georgia, according to her resume.
At least 39 U.S. citizens were killed in 2010 in Ciudad Juarez, which has 1.3 million people. It is Mexico's most violent city, according to a report by state prosecutors.
they're ALL named perez. dirtballs.
rest of story at link.
Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection are investigating a report that 13 illegal immigrants who were disguised as U.S. Marines were apprehended in a fake military van last week.
Clad in U.S. Marine uniforms, the illegal immigrants were apprehended at the Campo Border Patrol Westbound I-8 checkpoint at 11 p.m. on March 14 near Pine Valley, Calif., according to information received by California's El Centro Border Intelligence Center.
After the suspicious white van was subjected to secondary inspection, it was determined that the driver of the vehicle and its front seat passenger were U.S. citizens who were attempting to smuggle 13 illegal immigrants into the United States. All of the vehicle's occupants wore U.S. Marine uniforms, reportedly emblazoned with the name "Perez."
Tiffany Hartley, the wife of the American believed to have died in a hail of bullets while jet-skiing on the border of Texas and Mexico, marked sixth months since the incident by calling on the U.S. government do more to find and bring home his body
CNN
Were American tourists caught in the crossfire of a drug war? Or is there a more sinister twist to the story? Don't miss "Murder in Mexico: What Happened at Falcon Lake" at 8 p.m. ET Sunday on CNN.
(CNN) -- It was planned as a day of recreation for the young couple but turned into tragedy. A 30-year-old man dead, his body lost -- possibly forever.
As his grieving widow waits for answers, suspicion is cast on her. Then an investigator is murdered as he looks into the crime.
Today, nearly six months later, some of the puzzle pieces are falling into place regarding what happened to Americans David and Tiffany Hartley that September day on Falcon Lake, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border.
Even with the new information, however, authorities caution that the full picture of what happened that day, leading to David Hartley's death, may never be known.
"It didn't happen in the United States," said Zapata County, Texas, Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez.
And Mexican authorities, he told CNN, have "somewhat of a zero solvency rate, and a zero conviction rate."
"So unfortunately, this case may remain open forever, even though the information and the evidence may be there," according to Gonzalez.
I haven't read this thread but wanted to post while this is fresh in my mind.
CNN has an hour special on this. I just watched it and I'm sure they'll repeat it. I never doubted her story and the show backs her up. A local Texas sheriff has inside contacts (Mexican side) who confirmed everything she said. They said that David's body was put into a barrel and burned. The jet ski was dismantled, some parts burned, other parts dumped in the lake. Because of the press and the attention on the cartels, the cartel murdered David's killers. The killers tried to kill Tiffany, too. The sheriff was told that they fired at her but her zig zagging on the jet ski made them miss her. An American farmer witnessed her being chased, exactly as she said, and also reported she was zig zagging. That farmer's identity has been kept secret because he fears for his life. A Mexican LE investigator who delved into the case had his head cut off when he named two brothers he said were involved. The American intelligence company, Stratfor, also supports her story. Surveillance photos taken that day show a boat, on the Mexican side, surrounded by men that match Tiffany's description. In the front end of the boat is large bail of weed. The Sheriff and border patrol believe there was a drug deal going down when David & Tiffany got in the middle and were mistaken as enemy cartel. Some people speculated that they weren't on jet skis or the lake but a Texas police cruiser pulled them over that day and there are dashcam photos of their vehicle and the jet skis. Tiffany refuses to believe that David's body was incinerated and that she'll never get his body back.
When asked why she thought this happened and why it remains unresolved, she said money. The CNN reporter asked, "Drug money?" and she just said "Money" and mentioned the economic ties between the US and Mexico. I completely agree with her. The whole North American Union/SPP thing, and NAFTA before that, is all about money and certain parties don't want that upset. As far as I'm concerned, that lake and a ten mile border around it should ALL be US territory by now. Because of money, instead we have Hillary Clinton and the sleaze in DC - the same sleaze that refuses to assist Arizona - making apologies for American gun rights, blaming us for Mexico's criminal culture and kissing Mexico's ass.
What bothers me about this is the people who have suspected her because she isn't a crier. CNN mentioned how so many people didn't like it that she was composed and not crying. Not everyone deals with trauma in the same way and lots of people don't cry, or cry privately.
