Gerardo Tavárez has been counting down the days for months.
The 25-year-old Los Angeles resident planned the perfect summer for his family.
He will get married on June 6, five days before the start of the World Cup. His honeymoon will be in Mexico, where he will watch the Mexican national team’s debut at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and a second match between Mexico and South Korea in Guadalajara, alongside his father, brother, future wife and young son.
The plan seemed set in stone. Until this week.
After the Mexican army killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as “El Mencho,” violence erupted in the state of Jalisco on Sunday, including roadblocks and vehicle fires. Images of smoke rising over Guadalajara quickly circulated on social media, sowing doubts among some planning to travel to Mexico for the World Cup.
According to Mexican authorities, more than 60 people, including 25 soldiers, died during the operation to capture the criminal leader.
“I’m more than worried. I’m nervous. I’m scared,” said Tavárez, born in Los Angeles to parents from Jalisco and a diehard fan of the Mexican national team.
Tavárez has already invested nearly $10,000 per person in tickets and related expenses. Even so, he admits that he has considered canceling the trip.
“I’ve discussed it with my family. It’s a possibility. … I’d prefer everything to return to normal,” Tavárez said. “I’ve been to Guadalajara many times, but now I have a fiancée and a son. I’m responsible for them. I have to think about it.”
One of his aunts who is from Tepatitlán and a U.S. citizen tried to return to California on Sunday, but the vehicle she was traveling in was blocked on its way to the airport. She was unable to fly and remains in Jalisco.
Guadalajara will host four matches of the 2026 World Cup, including the Mexican team’s second game in the tournament and one of the most anticipated matches of the group stage — Spain versus Uruguay. The state of Jalisco expects to receive more than three million visitors during the tournament, thousands of them from Southern California.
But last Sunday, the city experienced hours of tension. Mass events were canceled. The match between Chivas and América Femenil at Akron Stadium was suspended. In-person classes have been temporarily suspended until Wednesday.
For many fans in the United States, the images raised an inevitable question: Is Mexico ready to guarantee security during the biggest sporting event on the planet?
Since Monday morning, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has tried to allay fears during her morning news conferences, assuring that calm has returned to the affected areas and accusing some social media accounts of amplifying false information.
“They have every guarantee. There is no risk,” Sheinbaum said about international visitors during the World Cup on Tuesday morning.
Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro said he is working in coordination with federal and municipal forces to restore normality to a state considered one of the main regions where drug trafficking operates in Mexico and where many residents say they are “accustomed” to violence.
Meanwhile, in Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News that no U.S. citizens have been reported directly affected by the violence in Mexico and reiterated the recommendation to follow State Department guidelines.
“We have not been notified of any reports of Americans being injured, kidnapped, or killed… and Mexican drug cartels know that they must not touch a single hair on any American or they will suffer serious consequences under this president,” Leavitt said.
Manny Fernandez, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Secret Service and current vice president of global operations at FocusPoint International, said major international events typically have robust security arrangements in place.
“If [the cartels] could disrupt something like the World Cup with FIFA, they would be getting more involved with other entities, such as the U.S. government and the like, which would actually hinder their operation and they might not get any benefit from it,” said Fernández, who specializes in providing security in crisis situations to Americans and businesses abroad.
“We don’t have a crystal ball that tells us when [a violent] event is going to happen,” said Fernández, who recommended that World Cup tourists avoid traveling alone, stay out of areas considered high risk, and register with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive official alerts.
He also warned about misinformation.
“In situations like this, social media can amplify the chaos,” Fernández said.
The Mexican consul in Los Angeles, Carlos González Gutiérrez, agreed. He said some videos and images that were circulating on Sunday did not correspond to verified events.
“We saw people running and someone claiming that they were shooting at the general public, none of which happened,” González Gutiérrez said.
“It is essential to refer to official sources,” he added, noting that airports in Mexico are now operating normally and that most of the state of Jalisco remains open and functional.
According to the consul, Mexico is currently the sixth most visited country in the world and the vast majority of tourists who visit the country have no major complaints. He also maintained that violence linked to organized crime tends to be concentrated outside the main tourist corridors. The consul said visitors with questions can call the Mexican Assistance Information Center (CIAM), which operates 24 hours a day.
FIFA and fans won’t have to wait until the World Cup to find out whether Mexico is ready to host international events following Sunday’s violence. On Saturday in Mexico City, 335 miles from where “El Mencho” was killed, UFC will hold one of its most important international event and Dana White, president of the mixed martial arts company and ally of President Donald Trump, is not delaying the fights.
Next month, Guadalajara and Monterrey will host intercontinental playoff matches for some of the final spots in the World Cup field. On March 26, New Caledonia will face Jamaica at the Guadalajara Stadium. The winner of that game will play the Republic of Congo for a spot in the World Cup field.
Meanwhile, some Los Angeles fans remained excited as they travel this week to watch Mexico’s friendly match against Iceland in Querétaro.
“You have to stay positive. Think about how you’re going to make lots of friends,” said Juan Diego, a fan from Culver City who has been to eight World Cups and traveled this week to see El Tri play on Wednesday at La Corregidora, 240 miles from Guadalajara.
Erick Vales, an Orange resident and regular follower of the Mexican national team in the United States, including the past three World Cups, said the reaction has been disproportionate to the level of risk for fans.
“Here in the United States, someone was killed. They shot him in the head, and the World Cup isn’t being canceled,” Vales said.
But he acknowledges that international perception could influence non-Mexican travelers who are less familiar with life in Mexico.
Tavárez is still deciding whether he feels comfortable bringing his family to World Cup matches as planned. He always imagined his first World Cup as a historic moment shared with his father, his future wife and son. He also planned to celebrate the wedding with a visit to his family’s village in Jalisco. For now, that excitement is clouded with uncertainty.
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.
The post After El Mencho’s death sparked violence, some worry about World Cup matches in Mexico appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
