Palomas mayor abducted, killed
The mayor of Palomas, Mexico, was shot and killed after being abducted Thursday — an act of violence that sent shockwaves rippling across the border.
The slaying of Mayor Estanislao “Tani” Garca was the highest-profile homicide in a small town better known for luring U.S. tourists to its pharmacies and shops across the border from Columbus, N.M.
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“It’s just really sad. This hits home,” said Deming [NM] Mayor Andres Silva, a close friend of Garca’s.
Garca, who was in his second year of a three-year term, was married and had three children.
“We’re just shocked right now,” Silva said.
He said he was contacted by the Chihuahua governor’s office.
“The reason they called me, they knew I was close to him. They were shocked,” Silva said.
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Rough estimates are that up to 200 families left Palomas last year, including the town’s police chief, who quit and fled to the United States.
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