New Mexico border town on edge

The old Columbus, N. M., train station sits at the junction of highways 9 and 11. It’s now a museum that touts the village’s claim to fame: being the site of the 1916 attack from Mexico by Pancho Villa. The attack killed 18 Americans and destroyed several buildings. The incursion touched off a U.S. military expedition into Mexico, but Villa was never caught.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Ken Henrics , 86, walks his dog on North Boundary Street. The retiree, a World War II veteran, lives on 10 acres of land, prefers to stay out of politics and will talk your ear off about his experiences in the Battle of the Bulge. His wife Betty gave him the golf cart for their 38th wedding anniversary.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

At a town council meeting, Columbus Mayor Eddie Espinoza shouts back at angry citizens. Since his election, Espinoza has been at odds with much of the town and six police chiefs have either resigned or been fired. Now there’s not a single local cop in town.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

From the town council speaker’s podium, Gene McCall, 78, gestures with his cane during a sharp monologue directed at Mayor Eddie Espinoza. With the Mexican drug war heating up in Palomas, just a few miles away, citizens are hopping mad since Espinoza fired the police force, leaving the town without a single cop.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Locals in the town of about 1,800 attend a City Council meeting. Mayor Eddie Espinoza is taking a lot of criticism for firing police chiefs and officers, leaving the border town without a single cop. Seventy-one residents signed a petition demanding a return of the police force.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The town of Columbus, N.M., sleeps beneath a starry sky.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

A cemetery on the outskirts of Columbus, N.M.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The mountain formation called the Three Sisters on the horizon north of town. It’s a landmark used by Mexican smugglers bringing illegal immigrants and drugs across the border.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

In the late afternoon, schoolchildren scamper across the border to waiting parents in the Mexican town of Palomas. Half of the 480 pupils at the Columbus, N.M., elementary school sleep in Palomas and catch a bus to school each morning from the border.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The main drag in Palomas, Mexico, is just about deserted. Tourists from nearby Columbus, N.M., are staying away out of fear of a violent drug war.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

The uncertainty of the drug war has scared most American tourists from the main street of Palomas, but a local woman enjoys a street serenade in honor of her birthday.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

Looking east from the edge of town, there’s not much but 60 miles of scrub and sand all the way to El Paso.  (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)