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BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A last minute decision not to call Grupo Mexico's top officials to the witness stand got attorneys for Asarco LLC fired up this morning and they demanded that CEO German Larrea be ordered to appear.

Tucson copper producer Asarco is suing its former parent company for fraudulent transfer of Asarco's majority share in two Peruvian copper mines.

Claiming the loss if that revenue eventually led to Asarco's bankruptcy, lead trial attorney Irv Terrell told Federal Judge Andrew S. Hanen that the inability to question Larrea is damaging.

Attorneys from Grupo's subsidiary Americas Mining Corp., filed their motion to withdraw German Larrea, Genaro Larrea and former Asarco CEO Daniel Tellechea late Friday.

"It's very shocking," Terrell told the judge.

Houston defense attorney Casey T. Wallace told the judge the withdrawal of the three witnesses was a "strategy decision."

The trio's testimony was anticipated, but attorneys decided it would not be necessary half way through the trial, Wallace said.

"We don't have to, regardless of how surprised they are," he said. "We have no duty to present any witness."

Wallace noted that Asarco attorneys could have put the trio on their own witness list.

Terrell told the judge they would have done just that if not for repeated reassurances by defense attorneys that they would appear.

While he conceded the lost opportunity to question Genaro Larrea, an officer with Grupo Mexico and Tellechea, Terrell told the judge he would not forfeit his right to cross examine German Larrea, who controls 51 percent of Grupo Mexico, one of the world's largest copper companies.

"This man was at the trigger," Terrell said.

Wallace called Asarco's angst "absurd" and said German Larrea's videotaped testimony of nearly four hours would be shown to the court in lieu of his live testimony.

He said calling him to answer the same questions in court would be "cumulative, repetitive and unnecessary."

Hanen requested that the two sides submit written arguments about Asarco's request to subpoena German Larrea today. Hanen was expected to make a decision Tuesday morning.