Arrest made in connection with the attack on a bar in Mexico where a young Cuban woman died

The Attorney General's Office of Puebla confirmed the arrest of Gabriel N., known as “El Tato,” identified as the suspected perpetrator of the armed attack and fire at the Lacoss bar, where the young Cuban Elianis Betsalie Martínez, 20 years old, died.

The capture, carried out in an interagency operation, represents the first concrete step toward justice for their family, who have experienced the tragedy thousands of kilometers away under extremely precarious conditions.

Although the Prosecutor's Office made the arrest public this Saturday, local journalists such as Juan Carlos Valerio from Imagen Noticias Puebla and the journalistic project INCIDENCIA had already revealed days earlier that "El Tato" had been arrested for his alleged involvement in the multiple homicide. Both shared the first images of the detainee taken during the operation.

The crime shook both Mexico and the Cuban migrant community. Elianis, a mother of a young child and the economic provider for her family in Holguín, had migrated to Mexico in hopes of finding better opportunities.

In the early hours of November 18, however, she became trapped in the attack on the Lacoss bar when six men on motorcycles entered the venue, opened fire, and sprayed gasoline before starting a fire.

"That's what happens to you for not paying," the assailants reportedly warned, according to witnesses, in an apparent case of extortion.

The young woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Alongside her, a DJ and several workers from the establishment also lost their lives.

Her family, living in a rural area of the province of Holguín, with limited resources, had to identify the body via video call, an unprecedented process that highlighted the deep helplessness they faced in dealing with the tragedy.

Recently, Mexican authorities granted humanitarian visas to her parents so they can travel to Puebla and complete the repatriation procedures.

The arrest of “El Tato,” presented by the Prosecutor's Office as a result of coordination among state, federal, and municipal authorities, opens a small window of relief for Elianis's family, who are still hoping that all those responsible for the crime will face justice.

For the Cuban community in Mexico and on the island, the case serves as a painful reminder of the risks faced by thousands of young migrants driven by economic necessity and exposed to environments marked by criminal violence.