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Four professional soccer matches in Mexico were postponed on Sunday after violence erupted near Guadalajara – one of the host cities of the 2026 World Cup – following a military operation that claimed the life of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho”.
Liga MX officials removed two high-profile fixtures from the schedule – Querétaro’s match against Juárez FC in the men’s league and the women’s showdown between Chivas and América – and also canceled two second division matches due to security concerns.
The disruption followed operations earlier in the day in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about two hours southwest of Guadalajara. Mexican authorities said Oseguera, a former police officer who became head of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), was killed during the operation.
In the aftermath, vehicles were set on fire and highways were blocked in nearly a dozen Mexican states, according to authorities.
GREAT DRUG LORD “EL MENCHO” KILLED DURING MEXICAN MILITARY OPERATION WITH SUPPORT OF AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE
Vehicles drive past a burning bus used as a roadblock by organized crime following a federal operation in which Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as “El Mencho”, was killed. (Gabriel Trujillo/Reuters)
Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, is scheduled to host four matches at the 2026 World Cup, including two involving South Korea. Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia are also expected to play there.
The Mexico national team remains set to host Iceland in a friendly match on Wednesday at the Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro. As of Sunday, the Mexican football federation had not announced any changes regarding this match.
Not all sporting events were affected. Organizers of the Mexican Open in Acapulco said the ATP tournament will begin Monday at the GNP Arena as scheduled.
“The tournament is proceeding normally,” tournament organizers said in a statement.
Oseguera took home a US$15 million bounty and rose to prominence after the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Over the past fifteen years, CJNG has grown from a regional criminal group to a global trafficking network operating across much of Mexico from its stronghold in Jalisco.
A burned vehicle used as a barricade by organized crime members, following a series of arrests by federal forces, is found in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Michelle Freyria/Reuters)
“I just learned that Mexican security forces have killed ‘El Mencho,’ one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug lords,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in an article on X. “This is a great development for Mexico, the United States, Latin America and the world. The good guys are stronger than the bad guys.”
Mexico’s Defense Ministry said the operation was carried out through bilateral coordination and cooperation with the United States, and that U.S. authorities provided additional intelligence that contributed to El Mencho’s assassination.
After El Mencho’s death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.
TOURISTS AT MEXICAN BEACH RESORT TOLD TO STAY AT RESORT AS GOVERNMENT WARNS OF “AFFRONTOCS”
A soldier stands guard near a charred vehicle after it was set on fire, in Cointzio, Michoacán state, Mexico. (AP Photo/Armando Solís)
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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 21 of the country’s 32 states.
The Trump administration has designated the cartel a foreign terrorist organization.
