Tecate police official slain

Killing occurs hours after tunnel is found

By Anna Cearley
and Sandra Dibble

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS

December 5, 2007

TECATE – The killing of a high-ranking police officer and the discovery of a cross-border tunnel in a 24-hour period have stunned people in this quiet border city, known more for its namesake brewery and tree-lined central plaza than for the ravages of organized crime.

The Mexican opening was found yesterday morning inside a building that apparently was being rented out to several businesses, about a block west of the Mexican port of entry and a block south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Though the tunnel and the slaying are being investigated separately, authorities are exploring whether there's a connection, Navarro said.

Unlike other police agencies in the state, Tecate's police force has suffered few fatalities, although in December 1998, Tecate's assistant police chief was gunned down at his home in a hit that investigators suspected was linked to organized crime.

The area's relative peacefulness can be deceiving, however, because members of organized-crime groups are believed to maintain residences and ranches in nearby rural communities.

The incidents are a reminder that smaller cities such as Tecate and Rosarito Beach, which has seen more drug-related violence in recent years, are within the reach of organized crime.