The World Cup is a festival. But the city hosting that festival is now under tension.
A large-scale public security unrest occurred in Guadalajara, Mexico, the planned base camp site for the Republic of Korea national soccer team led by coach Hong Myung-bo, and nearby areas, ahead of the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) North and Central America World Cup.
Mexican outlet Carlosports reported on the 22nd (Korea time) that the armed clashes near Guadalajara in Jalisco raised the possibility that World Cup preparations could be disrupted.
The trigger was a large-scale government operation to root out cartels in Mexico. Authorities carried out an arrest operation targeting the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), El Mencho. The Ministry of National Defense of Mexico said a team dispatched to Tepaelfa after tracking El Mencho's partner arrested him and his associates.
CJNG is a transnational criminal organization that has expanded its power fastest in recent years and has been smuggling fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine into the United States. There was also cooperation with the United States. The Mexican government said it cooperated with U.S. agencies, including Northern Command. The symbolism of the operation was significant, but the aftermath was immediate.
Immediately after Mencho's arrest, CJNG declared martial law and announced indiscriminate massacres, putting Guadalajara into a de facto state of extreme tension. Shortly after, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Mexico also urged expatriates to refrain from going out and to follow authorities' guidelines. Agence France-Presse reported that Guadalajara has a "markedly higher number" of missing persons and clandestine burials than Mexico City or Monterrey.
Local security director Juan Pablo Hernández publicly voiced concern, saying it is "a city of interest to criminal organizations." It has already affected sports schedules. The match between Querétaro FC and FC Juárez, and the women's matches between Chivas and Club América were postponed. Two second-division matches were also canceled. ESPN reported that the security unrest is affecting the league as a whole.
The problem is the World Cup. Akron Stadium in Guadalajara is the venue for a FIFA playoff path 1 match. On March 27 New Caledonia and Jamaica will play the first round, and the winner will face the Democratic Republic of the Congo on April 1 for a spot in the finals. FIFA is reported to have requested a security report from the Mexican Football Federation.
In the finals, Korea will play two matches here. On June 12 they will play the winner of European playoff path D in the first match, and on June 19 they will face host country Mexico. The base camp is also Guadalajara. They will use Deportivo Guadalajara's training ground "Chivas Verde Valle," located at an altitude of 1,566 meters.
In this situation, at a Mexican women's professional soccer match held at La Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro near Guadalajara, a cartel opened fire outside the stadium, causing the match to be suspended. In many ways, chaotic conditions continue ahead of the World Cup.
Local authorities said they will deploy more than 2,000 security personnel during the World Cup. But the word "guarantee" is still tentative. The World Cup is not completed by 90 minutes of soccer. Safety, infrastructure and trust must work together. Hong Myung-bo's Guadalajara plan remains unchanged.
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