Villa assassin's family wants reward money

Mexican relatives of the man who killed Francisco "Pancho" Villa in Texas 92 years ago say they're owed the reward offered by the U.S. government.

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The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday that the family of Jose Saenz Pardo, one of Villa's assassins, says it is are owed the $50,000 its forebear never received.

Maria Fernanda Carrillo Saenz Pardo, who is Saenz Pardo's granddaughter, said her family should be paid.

"At this stage, it's a question of honor, not about money," she said. "We want the United States to make good on its word. They wanted Villa, dead or alive. We fulfilled our end of the bargain."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said the U.S. government offered no reward, noting that a resolution authorizing a $50,000 bounty was introduced in Congress but never approved, the newspaper reported.

She said there was a $5,000 reward apparently offered by officials in Columbus, Texas. Columbus Mayor Eddie Espinoza said he knows nothing about the reward.

"I have absolutely no idea where that money is. It was a long time ago. All I can say is we don't have it."