She has no gun, no experience and some say no hope -- but Marisol Valles Garcia is ready to lay
"We have to reclaim our lives," Valles told The Post. "And to do that, people have to trust the authorities. We are here to start the painful process of regaining their trust."
The 20-year-old mom and graduate student -- who will make $640 a month -- was the only person with the guts to take on the role of police chief in her small, violence-ridden border town.
It's a job some have called one of the most dangerous in the world, since cops in neighboring Mexican villages have been regularly turning up dead at the hands of traffickers, but Valles dismissed the idea that her career choice is a suicide mission.
"I like to live day to day," the mom of a baby boy said in a wide-ranging interview in Spanish. "I'm not thinking of the future right now. At this moment, to solve the problems we're confronting right now, you have to stay focused on the immediate challenge."
That challenge is trying to lead a bare-bones police squad in rural Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, a tiny town of about 9,149 near the US border. It's set in the heart of the dangerous Juarez Valley of Mexico, where there have already been some 2,500 drug-related killings this year.
"My husband supports me 100 percent -- but he did ask me to think it over carefully!" said the baby-faced chief.
She'll tackle the job with the most limited of resources -- one patrol car and four guns for the whole force -- but would welcome any outside help.
"We'll take donations, if anyone wants to send us a patrol car, or some bicycles for the kids to ride in the streets!" she said with a chuckle.
The violence in her country knows no bounds. The cartels have been so bold as to assassinate the mayors of two neighboring towns in recent months, prompting more experienced law officers to turn down the chief job that Valles took.
Valles, who is still studying criminal justice, commands 13 officers, nine of whom are women. The chief has decided not to keep a weapon and doesn't even have a security detail.
"We don't have escorts," she said. "We don't have security details. We are like any other citizen, and we're here to work."
To make matters worse, Valles won't get paid until November -- and that's only if money from the federal government comes through.
"We don't have much, but we have the will, the heart and the patience to overcome any material deficiencies," she said.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/baby_faced_mex_sheriff_we_can_live_umBi2wXG39U1I26xkEO9oM
"We have to reclaim our lives," Valles told The Post. "And to do that, people have to trust the authorities. We are here to start the painful process of regaining their trust."
The 20-year-old mom and graduate student -- who will make $640 a month -- was the only person with the guts to take on the role of police chief in her small, violence-ridden border town.
It's a job some have called one of the most dangerous in the world, since cops in neighboring Mexican villages have been regularly turning up dead at the hands of traffickers, but Valles dismissed the idea that her career choice is a suicide mission.
"I like to live day to day," the mom of a baby boy said in a wide-ranging interview in Spanish. "I'm not thinking of the future right now. At this moment, to solve the problems we're confronting right now, you have to stay focused on the immediate challenge."
That challenge is trying to lead a bare-bones police squad in rural Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, a tiny town of about 9,149 near the US border. It's set in the heart of the dangerous Juarez Valley of Mexico, where there have already been some 2,500 drug-related killings this year.
"My husband supports me 100 percent -- but he did ask me to think it over carefully!" said the baby-faced chief.
She'll tackle the job with the most limited of resources -- one patrol car and four guns for the whole force -- but would welcome any outside help.
"We'll take donations, if anyone wants to send us a patrol car, or some bicycles for the kids to ride in the streets!" she said with a chuckle.
The violence in her country knows no bounds. The cartels have been so bold as to assassinate the mayors of two neighboring towns in recent months, prompting more experienced law officers to turn down the chief job that Valles took.
Valles, who is still studying criminal justice, commands 13 officers, nine of whom are women. The chief has decided not to keep a weapon and doesn't even have a security detail.
"We don't have escorts," she said. "We don't have security details. We are like any other citizen, and we're here to work."
To make matters worse, Valles won't get paid until November -- and that's only if money from the federal government comes through.
"We don't have much, but we have the will, the heart and the patience to overcome any material deficiencies," she said.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/international/baby_faced_mex_sheriff_we_can_live_umBi2wXG39U1I26xkEO9oM
