Mexico on Alert: Cartel Violence After Drug Lord Killing Sparks FIFA World Cup Security Concerns 2026
Mexico is on high alert after the killing of a top drug lord sparks cartel violence, raising fresh security concerns as the country prepares for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
After drug cartel boss "El Mencho" is killed by Mexican security forces, violence breaks out.
A wave of violence has been unleashed in 20 Mexican states by members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of the country's most powerful and feared criminal groups.
In response to the death of their leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, popularly known as "El Mencho," who passed away in custody on Sunday not long after being apprehended by Mexican special forces, they set up burning blockades and set fire to businesses.
The most wanted man in Mexico, El Mencho, was gravely hurt in a gunfight between his bodyguards and the military commandos sent to apprehend him. He passed away while being transported by the military from the Jalisco state town of Tapalpa to Mexico City, the country's capital.
According to the defense ministry, three Mexican military personnel were hurt in the operation, and at least six of El Mencho's security guards perished.
Members of El Mencho's cartel attacked numerous towns and cities where the CJGN operates as word of his passing spread.
They commandeered buses and other vehicles and set them on fire in the middle of the road in some towns, while in others they blocked roads by hurling spikes and nails onto the pavement.
Members of the cartel also set numerous banks and nearby establishments, including pharmacies, on fire.
Travelers at the airport in Guadalajara, one of the cities hosting the upcoming FIFA World Cup, were seen screaming and crouching on the ground.
According to the news website Milenio, after hearing gunshots coming from the nearby highway, a group fled into the airport in search of safety, causing the panic to spread.
Although their reporter claimed to have seen a burned-out car on the highway, the authorities had denied reports that gunfire had taken place inside the terminal.
Local authorities ordered residents to seek shelter in their homes, leaving many towns with empty streets.
Many were reminded of the violence that broke out in the state of Sinaloa in 2019 following the arrest of another infamous drug lord, Ovidio Guzmán López.
The Mexican government chose to release Guzmán López, the son of imprisoned drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, in order to stop more bloodshed because the street fights between members of his Sinaloa cartel and the security forces were so intense.
Even though Guzmán López was apprehended again in 2023 and extradited to the United States, where he entered a guilty plea to drug-trafficking charges, cartel retaliation attacks have since become commonplace after high-profile arrests.
In a number of neighborhoods, videos showed black smoke rising from burning cars; one visitor described the scene as "like a war zone."
Due to the violence, flights were canceled, leaving about 300 tourists stranded at Puerto Vallarta's airport.
They were taken to the city center in a convoy with a strong police escort to guarantee their safety.
Visitors to the town were advised by the UK Foreign Office to "exercise extreme caution" and heed the advice of local authorities, including directives to remain indoors.
They were asked to leave Las Glorias Beach, according to Sara Morales, who is vacationing in Puerto Vallarta with her kids. She said, "I was very afraid because I didn't know what was happening," to El Economista, a Mexican newspaper.