Cartel Violence Overshadows FIFA World Cup Festivities In Parts Of Mexico

Last Updated:June 26, 2026, 20:30 IST

In villages and towns across Mexico where shootings are a near-daily occurrence, the cheers are mostly confined indoors.

Much of Mexico has embraced the World Cup with festive outdoor gatherings since the tournament kicked off on June 11, filling streets, plazas and fan zones in the country’s three host cities – Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. But in regions gripped by cartel violence, the tournament has brought not celebration, but fear.

Across villages and towns where gunfire is a near-daily reality, fans are largely staying indoors. There, the excitement of a World Cup in which Mexico has reached the knockout stage takes a back seat to concerns about personal safety.

“I really like football, but … we’re nervous," a lime grower from Michoacan, one of the states with the highest concentration of criminal groups battling each other, told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. During a recent World Cup match, he said, local cartels were launching explosives from drones at a nearby ranch.

“In previous years, people would get together to watch the games and place bets. Not anymore. … There’s no party here, there’s only exhaustion," he said.

Farther north, in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have fueled nearly two years of violence. The city lies about 1,040 kilometers (645 miles) from Mexico City.

Yet it might as well be a world away.

Instead of taking to the streets, many residents gather in friends’ homes, seek out quiet places or visit one of the few pubs showing the matches, hoping to forget — if only for a couple of hours — that violence shapes their daily lives.

José Miguel Taniyama, a chef and restaurant owner in the city of 1 million, had hoped the World Cup would help revive business after a two-year economic crisis caused by the fighting, which shuttered businesses and cost Sinaloa nearly 60,000 jobs, according to official figures.

For Mexico’s opening World Cup victory over South Africa, only two tables were occupied when the match began. Business picked up somewhat in the following days, but not to the extent he had hoped.

“Business has been slow. We had some reservations but not at full capacity, and sales aren’t as strong as they were during similar events," he said, adding that, as soon as the match ends, “people run home" because of the violence.

On the opposite side of the country, in Poza Rica on the Gulf of Mexico, where cartel violence has recently intensified, the streets were deserted after Mexico played North Korea on June 18.

“No one went out to celebrate," said Guillermo Núñez, a 28-year-old business owner and soccer player for a local team, who walked a friend home after they watched the game together.

The celebrations that once followed major matches have largely disappeared because people are afraid to be out at night, he said, and many of those close to him have changed their routines. This year, two journalists were killed near his home.

“The violence has stolen even the desire to go out and watch soccer."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has projected optimism throughout the World Cup. While pressure from the United States over economic and security issues continues, U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson praised cooperation between the two countries to ensure a successful tournament, including the deployment of more than 100,000 Mexican security personnel across the country.

“People are happy, super happy" with the World Cup, Sheinbaum said last week. On Wednesday, she said Mexico was sending the world a message of “joy, happiness and excitement" as it hosts the tournament.

Some supporters acknowledged that one reason they have immersed themselves in the matches is to temporarily escape the country’s painful realities.

“We Mexicans know how to appreciate a victory because we’ve been through many very painful and humanitarian disastrous events," said Juan Pablo de los Santos, who joined thousands celebrating in Mexico City after Mexico’s victory over South Korea.

Across cities in Tamaulipas, where cells of the Gulf Cartel, factions of Los Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel operate, many residents appear resigned to living with violence.

A resident of Miguel Alemán, a small town in Tamaulipas on the Texas border, said conditions have improved because shootings no longer last for hours, but only a short while. The woman, who requested anonymity because of security concerns, said neighbors can now sit outside and talk — something that was impossible just months ago because criminal groups would abduct anyone they saw on the streets.

Sheinbaum’s administration has highlighted progress on security, pointing to a decline in homicides since she took office in October 2024.

Last week, the Mexican government released updated figures showing an average of 50.4 homicides a day from January through May, the lowest rate for that period in a decade. In June, the daily average fell to 39.

Few dispute that the figures point to improvement. But analysts say disappearances continue and violence remains severe in several parts of the country despite the drop in killings.

After decades of bloodshed, fear still runs deep.

“People involved in organized crime sit down to watch soccer so things calm down a bit," said Josías Ramírez, a worker at a maquila in Matamoros, next to Brownsville, Texas.

But, he said, reality remains unchanged.

“The fear is ever-present because we live in a border society where crimes continue to happen in broad daylight."

About 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) to the southwest, in Uruapan – the Michoacan city whose mayor was assassinated nearly eight months ago – hundreds of young people overcame their fears after Mexico’s victory over South Korea and celebrated under the watch of security forces.

“I thought it was dangerous because of everything that’s going on, but to see some people going out gave me confidence," said María Luisa García, 19.

“Youngsters keep throwing themselves in risky situations … They know that eventually one of them will get caught up in trouble … and will probably die, but they like to party," said Juan Carlos Mora, a berry farmer in Uruapan. “Every day it’s the same thing: today it just wasn’t my turn, tomorrow, who knows?"

With AP Inputs

About the Author

Feroz Khan

Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience ...Read More

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