The deadly violence in response to Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio ‘El Mencho‘ Oseguera Cervantes‘ killing is leading to concerns about Mexico’s role in hosting matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ABC News reports.
Maria Dolores Aguirre, whose family owns a corner store in Tapalpa, where Cervantes, 53, was arrested and killed by Mexican forces, said she’s worried that the global perception violence in the town will affect her livelihood, which is an issue that the Jalisco state could face ahead of scheduled group-stage matches alongside 15 other cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada this summer.
“It’s going to affect us. It’s collateral damage,” Aguirre said via ABC News. “The government is going to have to have a lot of security. … The entire world just saw what happened and, of course, people are going to think twice about coming.”
The violence in response to Cervantes’ killing reportedly spread to at least two-thirds of Mexico’s states, the New York Post reports. At least 20 of Mexico‘s 31 states have reported violence in the wake of Cervantes’ arrest by Mexican special forces in Tapalpa, Jalisco, and death in custody on Sunday (February 22).
Mexico’s Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla confirmed that agents identified a man close to Cervantes’ girlfriend ahead of the successful raid on Sunday (February 22). The woman was reportedly taken to Tapalpa, where Cervantes, 53, was shot during a firefight between his bodyguards and the Mexican military and died from injuries sustained while en route to Mexico City.
Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro announced that much of the area was in a “code red” alert in a post shared on his X account Sunday.
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