20-year-old woman becomes top cop in violent Mexican municipality

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: 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.



Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/10/20/mexico.female.police.chief/?hpt=Mid

[bainz]

1. yesterday's news

this is a day old, so it shouldn't be LBN, but I can guarantee there will be a follow up unfortunately.

[-..__...]

2. Yeah...

her obituary.

[bainz]

3. Kalashnikitty

Kalashnikitty cracks me up. Reminds me of a photoshop I did years ago of one of my kittens.

[nyc 4 Biden]

6. what a terrible post. not unlike most others in this thread.

god bless her.

[bainz]

10. how is god blessing her going to help?

which god? the god of money? the god the murderers worship?

can we just take god out of this?

[nyc 4 Biden]

13. no, if i want my god to bless her, i can use my freedom of speech to say it.

just like you used your freedom of speech to predict that there will be an announcement proclaiming her death forthcoming.

[arikara]

4. The old way hasn't worked...

Valles Garcia sees a non-violent role for her 13-member force, which will be mostly female and unarmed.

"The weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention," she told CNN en Español. "Our work will be pure prevention. We are not going to be doing anything else other than prevention."

Valles Garcia said she aims to establish programs in neighborhoods and schools, to win back security in public spaces and to foster greater cooperation among neighbors so they can form watch committees.

snip

"In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the
problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete." Buckminster Fuller

[w4rma]

7. That tactic could keep her alive. Smart. It does, however, allow the gangs to do what they please.

Without backup, this is as good as anyone there can hope for, I think.

[arikara]

9. The thing is though that

with the old way the gangs are doing what they please anyhow. I wish her luck.

[bainz]

8. the old way does work (for the gangs)

The gangs murder for greed. They will just murder the new "guy". Maybe putting women on the front line is a new strategy, but at the end of the day, money will decide.

[Hulk]

14. It doesn't matter to these low life scums.....woman or man or beast.

I'm afraid for her life. Even to speak out against these pathetic excuses for humans is an invitation to their sadistic aggression.

[jb5150]

5. Key sentence:

....She was the only person who accepted the top job.

[bainz]

12. Job requirements?

Shouldn't they have some sort of minimum qualifications? Why would they even hire her.

Maybe she is taking the jobs that "they" wont do.

[AlphaCentauri]

17. When Fidel Castro was asked

"How can we give rifles to women when there are so many men who are unarmed?"

"Becouse they are better soldiers than you are"

Fidel replied.

[aquart]

11. God help her.

That's a prayer, not a comment.

[RZM]

15. More power to her

Hopefully she can get rough with the gangs and live to tell the tale.

[JackRiddler]

16. A woman of greatness and courage, and some of you think it's hilarious she's risking her life.

Go back to your big fat couch potato lives, you creatures without shame.