What Is Happening In Mexico as Soccer Matches Are Postponed After Cartel Leader Killed
For readers wondering what is happening in mexico: four high-level soccer matches were postponed Sunday after the Mexican army killed the leader of a powerful drug cartel in a town near Guadalajara, touching off unrest across multiple states.
Matches pulled after the clash near Guadalajara
Two top-tier games were among those postponed: Queretaro vs. Juarez FC in the men's tournament and Chivas vs. America in the women's league. Two additional second-division matches were called off the same day. The cancellations followed the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed El Mencho.
What Is Happening In Mexico: national team and tournament schedules
Mexico's national team still has a friendly against Iceland scheduled for Wednesday at the Corregidora stadium in Queretora, and the national team was training as planned on Monday ahead of the game; the Mexican soccer federation has not made any public moves to postpone that match. FIFA's inter-confederation playoff for two of the remaining six spots in the World Cup is set to be played in Guadalajara and Monterrey in March, and world soccer's governing body requested a status report on security from the Mexican federation on Monday ahead of the games.
Where El Mencho was wounded and what followed
Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, who led the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, was wounded in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, and he died while being flown to Mexico City. Following his death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.
CJNG's size, reach and designations
The CJNG cartel is considered the most powerful in Mexico, with an estimated 19, 000 members and operations spanning 21 of the 32 states. It has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.
Other sporting events pressed ahead
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. " 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.
Officials and organizers are expected to clarify security measures and any further schedule changes in the coming days; world soccer's governing body has already sought a security status report from the Mexican federation, and the national team remains set to play Iceland on Wednesday at the Corregidora stadium in Queretora.
