The criminal cartels cashing in on the World Cup – podcast | World Cup

Excitement is increasing in Mexico as the World Cup opens in Mexico City and then heads to the city of Guadalajara.

Mexican journalist Leon Krauze is a fan. He was there the last time the World Cup came to Mexico and he will watch it again. The city of Guadalajara has a legendary football history: “Pele’s Brazil played there in 1970, then Zico and Socrates played there in 1986. There’s a real football memory there, a love affair between Guadalajara and football in general, and I expect it to be a great party.”

But he says it won’t be easy. Guadalajara is also the capital of the state of Jalisco, which became the center of one of the most notorious criminal gangs in Mexican history. There will be a huge security presence during the tournament; especially because US President Donald Trump kidnapped the country’s prime minister in response to the drug trade in Venezuela.

“There’s a government in Washington that’s really waiting for the right moment and the right excuse to go to Mexico and take unilateral military action,” Krauze says. Annie Kelly. Although football fans are unlikely to face any danger, president Claudia Sheinbaum is taking no chances.