Haunted by Mayor's Death

Albuquerque Journal

Palomas, Mexico — Just two weeks after arriving at his new post, the Rev. Antonio Velderrain Roman, the 38-year-old pastor of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Church on the town's plaza, found himself presiding over the Palomas mayor's funeral.

It was Velderrain's abrupt introduction to the violence, much of it fueled by drug cartel power struggles, that has ravaged this small border town, emotionally and financially, over the last two years.

"The people are insecure. There's fear and too much violence," Velderrain said. "People are afraid to go out. Once it gets dark, there's no one on the street."

In perhaps the most high-profile act of violence last year, on the morning of Oct. 8, Mayor Estanislao "Tanys" Garcia was abducted as he drove his car in the plaza one block from the town hall and killed.

His bullet-riddled body was discovered about 20 miles south of town in a Chevy Malibu that had been set on fire. The crime remains unsolved, and no suspects have been named.

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Palomas, a Battle Ground for the Drug Cartels

Palomas Mexico is a small dusty border town on the other side of Columbus, New Mexico. Some of you are familiar with Columbus New Mexico right?

Hidden in plain sight at the seemingly prophetic intersection of Interstates 9/11, lies the town of Columbus, nestled firmly in the footprints left by the dramatic events that transformed the United States at the turn of the 19th Century.

The sleepy little border town of Columbus is notorious for being the last town in the Continental United States that was invaded by a foreign military force. On March 9, 1916 Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco "Pancho" Villa led five hundred men in an attack against the town, which was garrisoned by a detachment of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment. Villa's army burned a part of the town and killed eight soldiers and ten residents before retreating back into Mexico. It was reported that over 100 of Villa's men were found dead.

On the other side of the border from Columbus is it's sister town of Palomas, a quiet small town that draws US tourists who come here for the cheap dentist and eye exams, and to buy souvenirs while drinking a beer at the corner taco stand. But don’t be fooled by the empty quiet roads and an occasional tumble weed moving across the dusty roads. The tourist have almost completely stop coming to Palomas particularly in fear of the crime wave that has been reported by the main stream media, particularly in neighboring cities like Ciudad Juárez.

But little do people know that the small town of Palomas has one of the worst murder rates in Mexico. While Ciudad Juárez a city of 1.5 million, just 80 miles east, had 1,600 drug-related murders last year, Palomas was statistically more dangerous with 40. One moment it can be deadly quiet and another moment it can be deadly, , , , well, , , , deadly.

There is no doubt that the eerily tranquil Palomas, a town of 8,500 scared residents, is suffering from a decline in revenue from a lucrative tourist industry. And although seen from the outside Palomas seems peacefully quiet, deep from within, another business is bustling with activity. Organized drug cartels are fighting for dominance in one of the very few left over unguarded point of entry ports in to the US. The drugs cartels have made their presence known, being driven out of places like Ciudad Juárez which has a large remarkable military and federal police presence.

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