[2][3] In 2004, International PEN featured Arratia, as well as the other two, Roberto Javier Mora García and Francisco Ortiz Franco, on its annual Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
"El Coss", a major figure in the Gulf Cartel, who had been linked to Arratia's murder and for whom the United States government had offered a $5 million reward.
Arratia had several signs of torture, including broken fingers, burned palms, a fractured skull, spinal damage, and injuries to the chest.
[6][7][8] One of the men that was suspected in Arratia's beating was Raúl Castelán Cruz, who allegedly was part of the Los Zetas militant wing that worked for the Gulf Cartel.
[9] Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where Arratia was murdered, is key city in the drug war as it occupies an important trade route between the US and Mexico.