According to
El Heraldo de Tabasco, Sarabia had been investigating Uriel and others over an extortion racket. The cops allegedly took significant payments from a father whose sons were being held in connection with an accidental death. Sarabia was preparing to expose the group that included Uriel, a psychologist, another police officer, and others. She reportedly met with them to confront them on the day of her death. According to
El Heraldo de Tabasco, Uriel is the conspiracy mastermind and ordered the hit on the journalist to avoid being exposed at the time.
The arrest comes as Mexico continues to be labeled as one of the most dangerous places for journalists due to the high rate of impunity in crimes against them. In 2019, there were at least 12 journalists murdered in Mexico. There are have been at least nine murdered journalists so far this year.