Soccer matches postponed after Mexican army kills drug lord El Mencho near World Cup host city
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Four professional football matches in Mexico were postponed on Sunday as violence flared up near Guadalajara, one of the country’s host cities for the 2026 World Cup, following a military operation that resulted in the death of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho.”
Liga MX officials removed two top-level 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 also canceled two second-division matches due to security concerns.
The outage followed operations earlier in the day in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about two hours southwest of Guadalajara. Mexican authorities said Oseguera, a former police officer who led the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), was killed in action.
Vehicles were set on fire and highways were closed in nearly a dozen Mexican states following the incident, according to authorities.
BIG DRUG LORD ‘EL MENCHO’ WAS KILLED IN MEXICO MILITARY OPERATION WITH US INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
Vehicles pass a burning bus used as a roadblock by organized crime following the federal operation that killed Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as “El Mencho.” (Gabriel Trujillo/Reuters)
Guadalajara, the capital of the state of Jalisco, is scheduled to stage four matches at the 2026 World Cup, two of which include South Korea. Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia are also scheduled to play in the field.
The Mexican national team will host Iceland in a friendly match at the Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro on Wednesday. As of Sunday, the Mexican football federation has not announced any changes to this match.
All sporting events were unaffected. Organizers of the Mexican Open in Acapulco said the ATP tournament will start as planned on Monday at the GNP Arena.
The organizers of the tournament said in their statement: “The operation of the tournament continues normally.” he said.
Oseguera had received a $15 million bounty from the United States and came to prominence following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Over the last fifteen years, the CJNG has transformed from a regional crime group into a global trafficking network operating throughout much of Mexico from its stronghold in Jalisco.
A burnt vehicle used as a roadblock by members of organized crime is found in Guadalajara, Mexico, after a series of arrests by federal forces. (Michelle Freyria/Reuters)
“I have just learned that Mexican security forces have killed ‘El Mencho,’ one of the bloodiest and most brutal drug lords,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post 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.”
The Mexican Defense Ministry said the operation was conducted as part of bilateral coordination and cooperation with the United States and that U.S. officials provided complementary intelligence that contributed to the killing of El Mencho.
After El Mencho’s death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.
GOVERNMENT WARNED ABOUT ‘CONFLICTS’, TOURISTS IN MEXICO WERE TOLD TO STAY ON HOLIDAY
A soldier stands guard next to a charred vehicle that was set on fire in Cointzio, in the Mexican state of Michoacán. (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
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The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is considered Mexico’s most powerful cartel, with an estimated 19,000 members and operations in 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.
