Priest's slaying brings woe, questions  Mexicans mourn Tijuana
cleric  October 28, 2005|By Richard Marosi, Tribune Newspapers:
Los Angeles Times  TIJUANA, Mexico — The execution-style killing
of a popular priest in a restaurant district here has touched
off an outpouring of grief.  At a funeral mass this week, about
2,000 people mourned Rev. Luis Velasquez, 52, an outspoken
cleric known for his social activism. He was gunned down Monday
morning in a parking lot in his 1993 Ford Thunderbird. Police
found six bullet wounds in his head and neck, and his wrists had
been handcuffed behind his back.  Velasquez's death, along with
a slaying over the weekend, pushed the homicide toll in the
Tijuana area this year past the record of 355 set in 2004, state
police officials said.  The wave of violence in this sprawling
border city has set new standards for brazenness. Masked, black-
clad gunmen have abducted businessmen from popular restaurants
in front of horrified diners. Their bodies usually appear days
later, gagged