Football fans are celebrating the tournament coming to Guadalajara. But with a brutal crime syndicate holding sway there, what are the risks for fans – and the government?
Excitement is mounting in Mexico as the World Cup opens in Mexico City, then heads to the city of Guadalajara.
Mexican journalist Leon Krauze is a fan. He was there the last time the World Cup came to Mexico and will be watching again. The city of Guadalajara has a mythical footballing past: “Pele’s Brazil played there in 1970, then Zico and Socrates played there in 1986. There is a real football memory there, a love affair between Guadalajara and football in general, and I expect it to be a wonderful party.”
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© Photograph: Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images
With five Academy Awards to his name, Alejandro González Iñárritu, 62, had few things left to achieve, and this week he crossed one off. The award-winning Mexican director, who will release his ninth film this fall — the dramedy Digger, starring Tom Cruise — has returned to his native city to join the Colegio Nacional de México, one of the most prestigious academic institutions in the Spanish-speaking world. As its new 38th member and the first filmmaker ever asked to join the honorary academy, his entire craft is also entering the institution: an art that has historically played different roles, he says, from “its use by governments for ideologies and repression” to “poetry and inspiration,” and also “entertainment.”
Four years ago, Salvador Rangel, then Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, outlined in an interview the motivations behind the battles in central Guerrero state, a territory he knew very well. At the time, he was close to Celso Ortega, leader of the Los Ardillos criminal group. Rangel pointed out that the fighting in the region, which has recently resurfaced in several communities in the lower mountains, has never been about drugs. “It’s not about drugs, because there aren’t any drugs here!” the bishop declared. “Celso tells me, ‘not even the damn marijuana grows here.’ So, the issue is political,” he added. Read in retrospect, his statements offer an interesting perspective on the current violence.
© José Luis de la Cruz (EFE)
With matches in 16 cities across the US, Mexico and Canada, players and fans face an array of weather-related challenges
With the 2026 World Cup now under way, all 48 teams face a common opposition: summer weather across North America. Matches will be played in 16 cities, from southern Mexico to Canada, with a range of weather risks possible at each venue.
Thunderstorms disrupted play before the tournament had even begun. England’s warm-up against Costa Rica in Orlando was delayed by about an hour after storms brought lightning and heavy rain that waterlogged the pitch. Safety regulations at US venues mean play is suspended when lightning is recorded within roughly 8 miles of a stadium, not resuming until 30 minutes after the last strike.
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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Bogotá, Colombia – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has demanded that United States authorities provide evidence for their claims that several senior politicians have ties to drug cartels.
Yesterday, the U.S. Justice Department indicted Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha, Senator Enrique Inzunza, and eight other current and former officials for drug trafficking and weapons offenses.
Sheinbaum said that without proof, the charges would be treated as politically motivated, marking the latest flashpoint in tense relations between the two neighbors.
“If there isn’t clear evidence, it is obvious that the objective of these indictments by the Department of Justice is political,” said Sheinbaum at a press conference this morning.
Her statement came a day after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictments against the ten officials from Sinaloa.
In addition to the governor and senator, justice officials charged Sinaloa’s deputy attorney general, several former police officials, and the current Mayor of Culiacán – the state capital.
“These politicians and law enforcement officials have abused their authority in support of the cartel, exposed and subjected victims to threats and violence, and sold out their offices in exchange for massive bribes,” read the indictment.
Rocha was charged with narcotics importation conspiracy and weapons possession, which carry a minimum sentence of 40 years and up to life in prison.
In the indictment, authorities accused the governor of receiving help from a faction of the Sinaloa cartel in his 2021 election campaign.
They alleged that “Los Chapitos”, a group run by the sons of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, had kidnapped and threatened Rocha’s political rivals in exchange for guarantees of impunity.
But Rocha denied the charges, writing on X, “They lack any truth or foundation whatsoever.”
Both the governor and Senator Inzunza are members of Sheinbaum’s ruling Morena party, threatening to embarrass the president as she leads a crackdown on organized crime.
In February, authorities killed “El Mencho”, the head of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), in an operation with U.S. intelligence assistance. Last week, they took out a possible successor to lead the CJNG, alias “El Jardinero”.
The Mexican government’s offensive comes amid U.S. pressure to deliver results on drug trafficking as the Donald Trump administration takes a renewed interest in tackling hemispheric organized crime.
During his election campaign, Trump pledged to stop the flow of illegal drugs, primarily Fentanyl, which contributed to the nearly 80,000 deaths from overdose in the U.S. in 2024.
In addition to pressuring regional governments to take firmer action against organized crime, Washington has overseen a boat bombing campaign in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific aimed at stopping drug trafficking.
But drug experts note that the use of military force has failed to stem the illegal narcotics trade during the decades-long U.S.-led ‘war on drugs’.
Featured image description: Claudia Sheinbaum pictured at her desk on April 30, 2026.
Featured image credit: @Claudiashein via X.
The post Mexico’s Sheinbaum calls for proof after US authorities accuse senior politicians of narco ties appeared first on Latin America Reports.
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