[1] After receiving death threats from Mexican drug cartels, Lara secretly moved his family to nearby Ciudad Juárez, but was murdered there.

[1][2][3][4] His death caused the Chihuahua governor to order protection for the state capitol while safety measures were discussed in closed session.

[2] The arrival of 2000 federal troops to combat the drug gangs in Ciudad Juárez in early 2010 caused a surge in violence in Guadalupe that has killed hundreds of people.

[4] Lara formed a friendship with the Ciudad Juárez mayor, José Reyes Ferriz, and the two leaders had rallied for other border towns to fight the drug cartels.

Three men shot the mayor in the back on June 19, 2010, in front of his wife and child as he walked to his car, outside the Ciudad Juárez house.