El Mencho and el mencho: Mexican league matches postponed after cartel leader killed
MEXICO CITY — el mencho was killed by the Mexican army in a town close to Guadalajara, and four high-level soccer matches were postponed Sunday as unrest spread. The announcement came after the leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación was wounded in Tapalpa, Jalisco, and died while being flown to Mexico City.
El Mencho killed in Tapalpa
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed El Mencho, led the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación. He was wounded in Tapalpa, Jalisco, a town about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City.
Matches postponed across divisions
Four high-level soccer matches were postponed Sunday after the Mexican army killed the cartel leader in a town close to the World Cup host city of Guadalajara. Two top-tier games were postponed: Queretaro vs. Juarez FC in the men's tournament and Chivas vs. America in the women's league. Two additional matches in the second division were also called off.
National team friendly still scheduled
Mexico's national team has a friendly against Iceland scheduled for Wednesday at the Corregidora stadium in Queretaro. The Mexican soccer federation has not made any public moves to postpone that match.
Cartel unrest spreads across states
Following his death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states. The CJNG cartel is described in official material as the most powerful in Mexico, with an estimated 19, 000 members and operations spanning 21 of the 32 states. The group has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.
World Cup and tennis events unaffected
Jalisco's capital, Guadalajara, is scheduled to host four games in the World Cup in June, including two involving South Korea. Co-host Mexico, Spain, Uruguay and Colombia will also play there in June. Separately, the Mexican Open, an ATP tennis tournament, will begin Monday at the GNP Arena in Acapulco, Guerrero. Organizers issued a statement Sunday saying that "the tournament's operation continues as normal. "
Unrest after the death of the cartel leader forced the postponement of several soccer fixtures on Sunday, while other national and international sporting events remained on their published schedules despite the security situation. The full sequence of events begins with the army operation in Tapalpa, continues with the wounding and death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes as he was flown to Mexico City, and is followed by the burning of cars and road blockages in nearly a dozen states and the suspension of four high-level soccer matches.
