For Alba Lucía Castañeda Torres, a 19-year-old Colombian woman, the trip to Mexico was supposed to be an exciting experience. According to her family, she had traveled after being invited by a man with whom she reportedly maintained a relationship. The plans included sightseeing and attending activities connected to the 2026 World Cup.
Instead, the journey ended in tragedy.
Newly released surveillance footage captures what investigators believe were the final moments before the attack that claimed her life. The recordings show a motorcycle repeatedly appearing near the vehicle in which Alba Lucía was traveling with another Colombian citizen. The motorcycle’s movements have attracted the attention of authorities because they suggest the victims may have been under observation before the shooting occurred.
The images show the vehicle moving through the city while the motorcycle appears nearby on several occasions. Investigators are examining whether the riders were following the victims, gathering information about their route, or coordinating with those who would later carry out the attack.
Only a short time later, gunmen struck.
The vehicle carrying Alba Lucía and her companion was intercepted, and a barrage of gunfire erupted. Both occupants were killed. The attack occurred in Mexico City’s Cuauhtémoc borough, near Paseo de la Reforma and Ricardo Flores Magón, one of the capital’s busiest urban corridors.
News of the killing quickly reached Colombia, where Alba Lucía’s family struggled to understand how a trip that had barely begun could end so violently. Her father, José Isidro Castañeda, expressed his anguish publicly, saying that his daughter had spent less than two days in Mexico before she was murdered. To him, what had been presented as an opportunity for travel and enjoyment became what he described as a “trip to death.”
The second victim was identified in reports as Iván Luque, another Colombian national. Authorities have not publicly disclosed all the circumstances surrounding their relationship, nor have they fully explained the motivation behind the attack.
As investigators continue reviewing surveillance videos and other evidence, the case is being treated as a targeted killing rather than a random act of violence. Detectives are attempting to determine who ordered the attack, who carried it out, and whether the victims were being tracked from the moment they arrived in the country.
For Alba Lucía’s relatives, the focus remains on obtaining justice and bringing her body home to Colombia. Meanwhile, the surveillance footage showing her final moments alive has become one of the most significant pieces of evidence in the investigation, offering a glimpse into the events that unfolded just before the fatal ambush.
