Soccer matches postponed after Mexican army kills drug lord El Mencho near World Cup host city
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Four soccer matches in Mexico were postponed on Sunday after violence broke out near Guadalajara – one of the 2026 World Cup host cities – after a military operation left cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” dead.
Liga MX officials removed two top-flight matches from the schedule – Querétaro’s match against Juárez FC in the men’s league and the women’s match between Chivas and América – and canceled two second-tier competitions amid security concerns.
The disruption followed earlier in the day’s operations in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about two hours southwest of Guadalajara. Mexican authorities say Oseguera, a former police officer who rose to lead the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), was killed during the operation.
After this, cars were set on fire and roads were closed in almost every Mexican state, according to officials.
DRUG KINGDOM ‘EL MENCHO’ KILLED IN MEXICAN GOVERNMENT BY TECHNOLOGY
Traffic drives past a burning bus used as an organized crime deterrent following a federal operation that killed Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho.” (Gabriel Trujillo/Reuters)
Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, is expected to host four matches during the 2026 World Cup, including two involving South Korea. Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia are also scheduled to play in this venue.
The Mexican national team will host Iceland in a friendly on Wednesday at the Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro. As of Sunday, Mexico’s soccer federation had not announced any changes to that game.
Not all sporting events are affected. Organizers of the Mexican Open in Acapulco said the ATP tournament will start on Monday at the GNP Arena as planned.
“The operation of the tournament continues as usual,” said the organizers of the tournament in a statement.
Oseguera was in charge of $15 million US dollars and came to prominence following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Over the past decade and a half, the CJNG has grown from a regional gang into a global smuggling network operating throughout Mexico from an isolated base in Jalisco.
A burnt-out car used as a hideout by members of organized crime, following a series of arrests by government forces, lies in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Michelle Freyria/Reuters)
“I was recently informed that the Mexican security forces killed ‘El Mencho,’ one of the bloodiest and most brutal drug lords,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said on the X website. “This is a huge development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world. Good people are stronger than bad.”
The Mexican Ministry of Defense said that the operation was carried out as part of coordination and cooperation with the US, and that the US authorities provided the corresponding intelligence that contributed to the killing of El Mencho.
After El Mencho’s death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in almost all Mexican states.
VISITORS TO MEXICAN SEASIDE AREAS TOLD TO STAY IN PLACES AS GOVERNMENT WARNS OF ‘CONTACT’
A soldier stands next to a burnt-out car after it was set on fire, in Coinzio, Michoacán state, Mexico. (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
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The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico with approximately 19,000 members and operations in all 21 of the country’s 32 states.
The Trump administration has designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
