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Priest murder enrages Tijuana
http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/miami/12467.html
October 28, 2005
TIJUANA The one-room wooden church with waterstained ceiling could no longer hold his growing congregation so the Rev. Luis Vel?zquez Romero broke
ground two years ago on a new Santa Mar?a Reina church that would grace a hillside overlooking the city. Vel?zquez was only a few raffles away from
applying the finishing touches: Heavy, engraved wooden doors and two statutes to flank the entrance.
But the popular priest was gunned down in a parking lot of the Plaza Fiesta in the heart of the restaurant and shopping district, a shocking milestone
to the city's bloodiest crime year. His body was discovered about 7 a.m. Monday.
Vel?zquez, 52, was found in the driver's seat of his 1993 Ford Thunderbird with six bullet wounds in his head and neck and his wrists handcuffed
behind his back. Police said the motive was unclear, but the killing carried the hallmarks of an execution.
On Sunday, Vel?zquez celebrated his last Mass at a retreat for couples in Tecate, about one hour from Tijuana. Parishioners said he left at 8:30 p.m.
The violent slaying, corresponding sensational media coverage and questions about the police investigation have heightened a sense of frustration in
this crime-weary city. Thousands have turned out to mourn the priest, filing into his nearly-finished church to kiss his coffin and touch his white
robe.
"This assassination has touched the most sensitive part of our society," said Carlos Medina Amaro, a longtime parishioner. "If they kill a priest,
they can kill anybody."
Vel?zquez's death was the 356th slaying in Tijuana metropolitan area this year, a record. Several police also have been killed or targeted, including
Chief Homicide Investigator Francisco Castro Trenti, who escaped injury in a shootout a few weeks ago.
Authorities said they were investigating whether the killing was related to the outspoken priest's office and whether he was a victim of drug
traffickers. Police said they were also taking a close look at the priest's personal life.
State police spokesman Filiberto Mart?nez said Vel?zquez was not suspected of being involved with narcotics trafficking, but that the executionstyle
killing and the .38-caliber handgun used were the calling cards of the drug cartels.
Vel?zquez was described as a dynamic priest with a jovial personality who easily navigated Tijuana's disparate worlds of wealth and poverty.
He was committed to social causes and founded an outreach group in poor neighborhoods. His sermons touched on current events and corruption, but he
steered clear of politics, parishioners said. A native of Guadalajara, Vel?zquez was a seminary student and missionary in Mexico City and New York
City before he moved to Tijuana, where he became a priest in 1988. Within a few years of arriving at Santa Mar?a Reina, in an upper-middle class area
above the city's country club, the church overflowed with members. People came from all over to hear his sermons, a blend of religious and social
commentary, said parishioners and priests.
"His motto was, 'Carry a newspaper in one hand, and a bible in the other reality and the word of God,' " said Jes?s Lara, who led Vel?zquez's outreach
group."
For now, Vel?zquez's church sits unfinished. The building with its beige, stucco walls and arched entry evokes an Old California mission. Vel?zquez
labored for two years on the project, and parishioners said they intended to fulfill their priest's dream.
"I don't know how we'll finish, but we will, in the memory of Father Luis," said parishioner Jes?s Laredo.
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3 men admit roles in killing of priest, Baja officials say
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20051029-9...
By Anna Cearley
October 29, 2005
TIJUANA ? Mexican authorities said yesterday that three men who claim to be part of the Arellano F?lix drug cartel confessed their involvement in the
killing of a Catholic priest this week.
The men arrested since Thursday were identified by the Baja California Attorney General's Office as Enrique Bracamontes Garcidue?as, 22; Julio Antonio
Arreola M?ndez, 22; and David Toris Cervantes, 23.
Though no charges have been filed against them, local authorities are also linking the suspects to at least 14 killings and abductions, including
several other high-profile incidents.
A news release from the Attorney General's Office said the men "were dedicated primarily to kidnapping, murders, drug trafficking and settling
scores."
The Rev. Luis Vel?zquez, 52, was found dead in his car Monday. He was handcuffed and had been shot six times in the head and neck. Mexican authorities
didn't explain yesterday how the three suspects were involved in the killings ? or why the priest was targeted.
Church officials said they were nonetheless pleased with the quick detentions.
"We look at this as providing concrete steps to clear up the killing of the father and hope that these arrests will bring to a conclusion the
investigation," said the Rev. Antonio Beltr?n. "A link to drug traffickers was claimed, but we must determine the motive of this."
People associated with drug trafficking groups often commit crimes unrelated to drug trafficking, he said.
Mexican authorities captured the men after the Thursday killing of a Rosarito Beach landowner and developer, Jos? de Jes?s Leyva Medina. Garcidue?as
was detained by police shortly after the killing. A multiagency law enforcement team continued the investigation, leading to the arrest of the other
two men.
Arreola and Toris were found in a house in Tijuana's La Mesa section. They were watching two people who had been abducted, according to the news
release.
Mexican authorities said the men are also linked to the following crimes:
The Oct. 2 killing of federal police officer Nicolas Garay Avila, who was ambushed as he was being dropped off at his home by a colleague. The
colleague was seriously wounded.
The Aug. 22 abduction of a well-known businessman, Alejandro Ruiz Arretche, who also serves as a city administrator for the La Mesa district. Ruiz's
family received a demand from the kidnappers, according to Mexican media, but he was released eight hours later without paying anything.
The May abduction and killing of Iv?n Escoboza. Escoboza, who was linked to the Arellanos in some Mexican media reports, was abducted from the city's
country club as he tried to escape his assailants. His body was found several days later. He had been tortured.
In connection with the arrest of the three suspects, authorities also located several more safe houses and confiscated nine assault rifles, four other
firearms and a grenade, according to the news release.
The Arellanos are the region's primary drug trafficking group. It's unclear what charges the three suspects will face. Even with confessions,
authorities often find it hard to provide sufficient evidence to file charges that can withstand a judge's scrutiny.
The men were expected to be flown to Mexico's interior to continue the legal process there, as is typically done when local law enforcement agencies
capture organized-crime suspects.
Vel?zquez was the pastor at the Church of Santa Maria Reina in an upper-middle-class section of Tijuana. Parishioners and others said he focused on
justice and service to others. They said he encouraged churchgoers to work with the less fortunate.
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