Source: Associated Press
Copyright: 1999 Associated Press
Author: John Rice

KILLING OF MEXICAN TV STAR SPARKS OUTRAGE FROM CITIZENS

MEXICO CITY - The death of a television star in a hail of bullets has
galvanized popular outrage over crime and insecurity in Mexico.

The motive for the slaying of Francisco "Paco" Stanley remained hazy
Tuesday, and its professional style made it atypical of murders in the
Mexican capital, where taxicab kidnappings, armed robberies and
carjackings have long terrorized citizens.

But the fame of the victim and the brazenness of the noontime attack
shocked many Mexicans, and prompted some to use it to attack the
city's opposition party mayor, a possible presidential candidate.

"With so much violence in the city, the government has ignored us.
Anybody can carry a weapon in his hand just as he'd carry a cell
phone," said Claudia Flores, one of thousands who lined up outside a
funeral home Tuesday to file past Stanley's coffin.

"Nobody protects us. We are alone," she said.

After the memorial, thousands more gathered at Mexico City's Spanish
Cemetery for the burial. Many clambered atop family tomb chapels to
shower flowers upon the hearse carrying Stanley's body as it moved
through the chaotic crowd. Some chanted "Justice! Justice!"

Police said a gunman with a .40-caliber automatic weapon fired 26
shots into Stanley's black Lincoln Navigator at noon Monday in front
of one of the capital's most famous restaurants alongside its busiest
freeway, the Periferico.

An insurance agent standing nearby was also killed and three people
were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Police said 13 eyewitnesses have provided information about the
shooting and authorities are investigating reports that a bald,
well-dressed man was seen leaving the scene with a gun. Authorities
brought in two men for questioning, but then released them.

The presumed getaway car -- a late-model silver Volkswagen Jetta --
was found three blocks away, bloodstained. Some police sources
speculated that one of the four shooters was either wounded by one of
Stanley's bodyguards, or was hit by crossfire.

Mayor Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, whose 1997 election was aided by outrage at
soaring crime in the city, quickly came under attack -- turning the
slaying into a possible political issue ahead of Cardenas' likely race
for the presidency in July 2000 for the opposition Democratic
Revolution Party.

"Although the government of Cardenas camouflages the statistics of the
fight against crime 85 Paco's death is one more example against what
the authorities say," Congressman Jorge Galvan of the National Action
Party told the daily El Heraldo de Mexico.

City Attorney General Samuel del Villar said Tuesday that tests showed
traces of cocaine in Stanley's blood. Investigators also said they
found a package containing half a gram of the drug in his suit pocket
and traces on a piece of foil paper in the car.

Authorities declined to speculate on whether drugs were linked to the
attack.