FIFA World Cup games in Mexico to continue despite deadly cartel violence

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is still expecting to play the scheduled FIFA World Cup games in Mexico this summer despite the rampant cartel violence that has struck the region. 

Cartel violence ensued following the death of Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most-wanted fentanyl kingpin, was captured and killed on Sunday after authorities tracked his romantic partner to a secret rendezvous location this past weekend. He carried a $15 million U.S. bounty after rising to power following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa cartel. 

Oseguera Cervantes was the head of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, and since his death, violence has spread across the country where at least 70 people have been killed.

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But Infantino said he has “full confidence” in the games scheduled to be played, even the matches in June at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara – the largest city in Jalisco, which has been hit hard by cartel violence. 

There are four matches scheduled in Guadalajara, and 13 total matches in Mexico, with Mexico City and Monterrey also playing host during the World Cup. The first matches are on June 11 in Guadalajara and Mexico City. 

“Nobody has to move anything,” Infantino told the Miami Herald. “We are in constant contact with the presidency of Mexico, with the authorities. We have full trust in the authorities in Mexico, in President [Claudia] Sheinbaum and her team. We fully support them because we live in a world where things happen. Good things and bad things, situations happen. We don’t live on the moon, we live here. We need to deal with it, we need to cope with it.”

Infantino added that FIFA is “monitoring the situation, of course.” 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a media briefing from the National Palace in Mexico City on Oct. 2. (AP/Fernando Llano)

“Mexico is a football country. And the Mexicans, the authorities and also the people will do everything to ensure the World Cup, but also the playoffs, will be a celebration of football.”

Sheinbaum also said she has “every guarantee” the World Cup will go on and there is “no risk” to fans thinking about heading to the matches in the country. 

Mexico is also set to host a World Cup playoff game next month featuring Jamaica on March 26. 

Soccer in the country has already been affected by the violence, as four matches were postponed on Sunday.   

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“The games are at the end of March, so we still have another month to see what happens; but it is making me very nervous, to be honest,” Michael Ricketts, the president of the Jamaican Soccer Federation, said in a statement per the New York Post. “We will be listening out for CONCACAF and FIFA to give us instructions [on] whether they are playing the games or whether they are immediately looking for other options.”

Oseguera Cervantes’ capture and subsequent death marks one of Mexico’s most significant blows to drug trafficking and organized crime since President Donald Trump called for intensified crackdowns on cartel violence.

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