Once Hailed As Mexico's Bravest Woman, 21-Year-Old Loses Police Chief Job

Enlarge this image toggle caption Raymundo Ruiz/AP Raymundo Ruiz/AP

After she stepped forward last year to take a job no one else wanted because of the drug-related violence — police chief in the Mexican border town of Praxedis G. Guerrero — Marisol Valles was called the "bravest woman in Mexico."

Now, she's the ex-police chief. Valles, 21, was "fired Monday for apparently abandoning her post after receiving death threats," the Associated Press reports. [The AP says Valles is 20; we're relying on the PBS News Hour for her age.]

ABC's World News with Diane Sawyer reported Friday that Valles had left Mexico after receiving death threats and is seeking political asylum in the U.S.

Back in February on the News Hour, Valles conceded she feared for her life: