Could Guadalajara Lost Its 2026 World Cup Host Status?
Violence due to the death of CJNG leader, El Mencho, may plague Guadalajara for months. FIFA is being reassuring, but it has pulled the plug on host cities before.
Could Guadalajara lose its place as a 2026 World Cup host city 100 days before the tournament begins?
On Sunday, February 22, Mexican special forces, acting on U.S. intelligence, killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), in rural Jalisco. By nightfall, Guadalajara was paralysed.
Buses were torched. The entire public transport network shut down. Around 1,000 people were trapped overnight inside the city zoo as cartel gunmen blocked access roads. Military helicopters circled above neighbourhoods while residents crossed the city on foot to avoid roadblocks.
In Puerto Vallarta, a tourism mecca along the coast, streets were sealed and vehicles burned. Jalisco’s governor declared a Code Red. At both Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta airports, passengers took cover as National Guard troops established defensive positions inside terminals. Southwest, Delta, United, Air Canada and WestJet suspended flights. The U.S. State Department opened a crisis hotline. Multiple governments issued travel advisories.
This came less than four months before Guadalajara is supposed to host matches within the 2026 World Cup.
