The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, affirmed this Tuesday that there is “no risk” to the security of visitors during the 2026 World Cup in Guadalajara, the epicenter in recent days of the country’s violence following the death of drug lord ‘El Mencho’. “All guarantees, no risk,” Sheinbaum assured in her daily press conference, after roadblocks and armed attacks were registered on Sunday and Monday following the death, in a military operation, of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias ‘El Mencho’, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in a town south of Guadalajara. Mexico will host the World Cup opening match on June 11 in the capital and will also have several soccer matches in two other cities: Guadalajara and Monterrey (north). Sheinbaum expressed her confidence that activity will “normalize” throughout Tuesday, especially in Jalisco, where she added there is “more presence” of military personnel who “work every day for the security and peace” of Mexico. According to information released this Monday by the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, Omar García Harfuch, a total of 25 members of the National Guard died in armed clashes with CJNG members following the death of their leader. Sheinbaum highlighted that her government is working to restore normality, although she emphasized that the violence cases on Monday were “much less” than on Sunday, when ‘El Mencho’ was killed in a federal operation by special forces. “Because (‘El Mencho’) was a person of the relevance we know, this situation was generated on Sunday, and yesterday it was already much less. Today we expect that all activity will normalize,” she added.
