Forced to flee: Slayings forever change a Chihuahuan family [El Paso Times, Texas]

July 16--VILLA AHUMADA, Chihuahua -- In 72 hours, the Porras family went from having everything to losing it all.

Almost a month ago, Rodolfo Porras, a 49-year-old merchant, local political figure and the family's patriarch, was shot to death by unknown gunmen. The following Tuesday, one day after Rodolfo Porras was buried, his youngest son Jaime Porras, 19, was killed while tending to his father's grave.

Death threats to the family followed later that day and, with two relatives slain, they took them seriously. In a matter of hours, 20 members of the Porras family left their hometown and everything they owned. Soon after, most of their businesses and homes were vandalized and ransacked. One house was burned to the ground.

"We basically left everything from one day to the next," said Jorge Porras, Rodolfo's brother and Jaime's uncle.

It's still unclear why the Porrases, who are now seeking political asylum in the United States, were suddenly and ruthlessly driven away from their home, but the family blames the corruption and organized crime that they say runs amok behind the tranquil facade of the small town less than two hours south of Juarez.

On June 17, the family learned that Rodolfo Porras had been

killed in the nearby town of Constitucion, where he had traveled for a palenque, a type of festival that often includes music and cockfights. He had been shot in the head, chest and back.

Authorities initially reported the crime as a robbery, but the family believes he may have been killed in an extortion attempt.

The Porrases buried him the next day. On Tuesday morning, his son Jaime Porras stopped by his father's grave to water the flowers. There, he was shot and killed by unknown gunmen.

"My nephew was there with two bullets in the back of his head and the water hose in his hand," Jorge Porras said.

The uncle said he reported the killing to nearby federal police officers and pleaded for help.

The threats by phone and text messages arrived almost immediately after, telling them to leave town or the rest of the Porras family would be killed one by one.

Federal police officers agreed to escort them to Mexico's attorney general's office in Juarez, or PGR, but told them they had to leave that very instant.

Twenty members of the Porras family -- 12 adults and eight children -- crammed into four vehicles and left businesses, houses, belongings and money behind.

Jaime Porras was left lying dead on top of his father's grave and was eventually buried by one of the town's priests, Jorge Porras said.

The family stayed several days sleeping in an office inside the PGR. Hector Porras, another of Rodolfo's brothers, said some PGR officials offered to transfer them to a safe house in Mexico, but others in the agency recommended they seek asylum in the United States. Hector Porras said PGR officials said there was little else they could do to help.

Officers with PGR guarded Lincoln Avenue in Juarez when the Porrases drove to the Bridge of the Americas to seek political asylum in the United States.

In a written statement, the PGR said the Porrases received legal and psychological counseling during their stay at the PGR offices. A PGR spokesman also said they opened an investigation based on the family's complaints, but did not comment on the status of the investigation.

The family owned two ranches, three creameries and several homes in Villa Ahumada. They also ran a clothing store, a car insurance business, a liquor shop and a car wash. In the weeks following their departure, every property they owned was looted.

On Thursday, one of their ranches stood empty and stripped of everything of value. The door and window frames had been ripped out of the concrete walls. There was no furniture inside and only debris, trash and a handful of crumpled photographs on the floor. A small cabin behind the ranch had been burned to the ground.

Just like the Porrases, people in Villa Ahumada

"What did they say or who did they offend? Nobody says anything other than they offended the narcos. The less one knows the better," said Rene Cazares, a local store owner who said he has known the Porras family all his life.

Small town

Some townspeople say Villa Ahumada is mostly calm; others are wary and prefer not to answer questions.

"I'm not going to tell you the town's clean, but it's not like you should crucify it either," store owner Cazares said.

Villa Ahumada is 82 miles south of Juarez. Travelers going back and forth between Juarez and Chihuahua City often stop to eat a quesadilla made with Villa Ahumada's famous asadero cheese.

In 2009, a confrontation between the Mexican army and alleged drug traffickers left 21 people dead at the nearby El Vergel Ranch. Several townspeople interviewed this week made references to a shootout around the same time that they say started late in the evening, lasted until the early morning and left about a dozen slain.

As the midway point between Juarez and Chihuahua, plenty of legitimate commerce flows through Villa Ahumada, but the town is also believed to be a crossing point for drugs, currency and stolen vehicles. Local media have reported on the existence of dirt roads that connect the town with the Valley of Juarez, roads that bypass customs and army checkpoints nearing Juarez.

This week about 50 Mexican army soldiers set up a checkpoint near the south entrance to Villa Ahumada, local officials said. An army spokesman did not comment on the reason behind the deployment, but Villa Ahumada officials said it was a routine rotation.

Villa Ahumada city manager Manuel Martinez said the town is not plagued with drug traffickers, but a few violent incidents have impacted the town's reputation and commerce, which has declined in the last three years.

Villa Ahumada has only 14 police officers watching over its approximately 10,000 inhabitants, said public safety coordinator Mario de Santiago. Five more are currently in training. The number of officers is low because the entire police force quit more than two years ago after a number of violent events in and near town, De Santiago said.

Officers in Villa Ahumada are also unarmed because their weapons were confiscated by the Mexican army and their license to carry weapons was canceled because, "I understand they were obsolete," De Santiago said. In a way, things are better like this, he said.

"It makes people calm that officers don't have weapons, and maybe they would be at a disadvantage against organized criminals," he said.

Police chief Adrian Barron was arrested in 2008 by Mexican army soldiers because of alleged ties to organized crime, according to local media reports. The next police chief was killed in a confrontation between police officers and armed men that same year.

The Porrases said most people in Villa Ahumada won't speak about drug traffickers because of fear. The Porrases said drug traffickers with La Linea, the enforcing arm of the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes cartel, run spare tire businesses, liquor and cigar shops, and illegal gasoline sales. Drug traffickers often assume public safety duties, like breaking up fights, they said.

"To steal something you need to have La Linea's permission. If you don't they kill you. Drug traffickers imposed the death penalty for thieves who steal even 100, 200 pesos," Hector Porras said.

Political affiliations

Spector said the Porrases represent the largest number of family members who have fled Mexico because of the government's inability to protect them from persecution. He also believes the family's political affiliation is strongly related to their case.

The Porrases, longtime supporters of the National Action Party, said they often faced intimidation from sympathizers of the Revolutionary Institutional Party, which dominates politics in Villa Ahumada.

However, they said problems increased because drug traffickers have penetrated deep into the local government.

"They can attack us because we're not with them," Hector Porras said.

Spector said since the family asked for political asylum at a port of entry -- as opposed to requesting it after entering the country legally -- they will have to wait four years for their first hearing before an immigration judge.

But despite their uncertain status in the United States, the Porrases left Villa Ahumada without a second thought.

They don't plan to go back.

"We won't return," Jorge Porras said. "Ask us instead if we want to be killed."

Alejandro Martinez-Cabrera may be reached at [email protected]; 546-6129. Follow him on Twitter @AlejandroEPT.

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