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Four professional soccer matches in Mexico were postponed on Sunday after violence flared near Guadalajara – one of the country’s host cities for the 2026 World Cup – in the wake of a military operation that left cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho”, dead.
Liga MX officials removed two top games from the schedule – Querétaro’s match against Juárez FC in the men’s league and the women’s clash between Chivas and América – and also called off two second division contests due to safety 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 rose to lead the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), was killed during the operation.
In the aftermath, vehicles were set on fire and highways were blocked across nearly a dozen Mexican states, according to officials.
MAJOR DRUG LORD ‘EL MENCHO’ KILLED IN MEXICAN MILITARY OPERATION WITH US INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
Vehicles drive past a burning bus that was used as a roadblock by organized crime after a federal operation killed Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as “El Mencho.” (Gabriel Trujillo/Reuters)
Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state, is scheduled to play four games during the 2026 World Cup, including two involving South Korea. Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia are also scheduled to play at the venue.
Mexico’s national team is still set to host Iceland in a friendly on Wednesday at the Corregidora Stadium in Querétaro. As of Sunday, the Mexican Football Federation had not announced any changes to that match.
Not all sporting events were affected. Organizers of the Mexican Open in Acapulco said the ATP tournament would begin Monday at the GNP Arena as scheduled.
“Tournament operations continue as normal,” tournament organizers said in a statement.
Oseguera had carried a US$15 million bounty and rose to prominence after the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former leader of the Sinaloa cartel. Over the past decade and a half, the CJNG expanded from a regional criminal group to a global human trafficking network operating across most of Mexico from its stronghold in Jalisco.
A burned vehicle used as a barricade by members of organized crime, following a series of arrests by federal forces, lies in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Michelle Freyria/Reuters)
“I have just been informed that Mexican security forces have killed ‘El Mencho,’ one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a post on X. “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, 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. authorities provided additional intelligence that contributed to El Mencho’s killing.
After El Mencho’s death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.
MEXICAN CITY TOURISTS ALLOWED TO STAY AT THE RESORT AS GOVERNMENT WARNS OF ‘GATHERING’
A soldier stands guard at a charred vehicle after it was set on fire, in Cointzio, Michoacán state, Mexico. (AP Photo/Armando Solis)
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The Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación is considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico, with an estimated 19,000 members and operations in 21 of the country’s 32 states.
The Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.
