{"id":5243,"date":"2026-06-26T14:34:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5243"},"modified":"2026-06-26T14:34:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T14:34:58","slug":"mexicos-world-cup-joy-muted-in-regions-gripped-by-cartel-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5243","title":{"rendered":"Mexico’s World Cup joy muted in regions gripped by cartel violence"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FILE – Soccer fans get revved up at a watch party for the World Cup match between Mexico and Czechia on Reforma Ave., near the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Marco Ugarte, File)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

CULIACAN, Mexico \u2014 Much of Mexico has been celebrating the World Cup<\/a> with joyful outdoor gatherings<\/a> , filling streets, plazas and fan zones in the country\u2019s three host cities \u2014 Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey \u2014 since the tournament kickoff on June 11<\/a> . But in parts of the country plagued by cartel violence, the event is experienced differently: with fear.<\/p>

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In villages and towns across Mexico where shootings are a near-daily occurrence, the cheers are mostly confined indoors. There, real-life concerns outrank the excitement around a World Cup in which Mexico has reached the knockout stage<\/a> .<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like football, but \u2026 we\u2019re nervous,\u201d a lime grower from Michoacan<\/a> , one of the states with the highest concentration of criminal groups fighting 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn previous years, people would get together to watch the games and place bets. Not anymore. … There\u2019s no party here, there\u2019s only exhaustion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Further north is Culiac\u00e1n, the capital of Sinaloa, where rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel<\/a> have fueled nearly two years of violence<\/a> . It sits about 1,040 kilometers (645 miles) from Mexico City.<\/p>\n

It might as well be a world away.<\/p>\n

Rather than taking to the streets, many residents seek out quiet spots, gather at friends\u2019 homes or head to one of the few pubs showing the matches to forget, if only for a couple of hours, that their lives are shaped by violence.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Miguel Taniyama, a chef and restaurant owner in the city of 1 million, hoped the World Cup would help revive sales after a two-year economic crisis caused by the fighting, a conflict that shut businesses and led to the loss of nearly 60,000 jobs in Sinaloa, according to official figures<\/p>\n

For the opening game of the World Cup in which Mexico triumphed over South Africa<\/a> , just two tables were occupied as the game began. The situation improved days later but not as he hoped.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness has been slow. We had some reservations but not at full capacity, and sales aren\u2019t as strong as they were during similar events,\u201d he said, adding that, as soon as the match ends, \u201cpeople run home\u201d because of the violence.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the country, in Poza Rica, an area on the Gulf of Mexico where cartel violence has recently intensified, the streets were empty after Mexico faced off against North Korea on June 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one went out to celebrate,\u201d said Guillermo N\u00fa\u00f1ez, a 28-year-old business owner and soccer player for a local team, who walked a friend home after they watched the game together.<\/p>\n

Celebrations that once followed big games have largely disappeared out of fear of going out at night, he said, and many people close to him are changing their routines. This year, two journalists were killed<\/a> near his home. \u201cThe violence has stolen even the desire to go out and watch soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum<\/a> has put a positive spin on all things World Cup. Pressure from the United States on economic and security issues continues, but U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson<\/a> lauded the collaboration between the two nations to ensure a successful World Cup, including the deployment of more than 100,000 Mexican security forces across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are happy, super happy\u201d with the World Cup, Sheinbaum said last week. On Wednesday, she said Mexico was sending the world a message of \u201cjoy, happiness and excitement\u201d as it hosts the tournament.<\/p>

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Some fans acknowledged that one of the reasons they\u2019re losing themselves in the games was to temporarily forget their country\u2019s most painful experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe Mexicans know how to appreciate a victory because we\u2019ve been through many very painful and humanitarian disastrous events,\u201d said Juan Pablo de los Santos, a fan who celebrated at a gathering attended by thousands in Mexico City after Mexico\u2019s win against South Korea.<\/p>\n

In cities across Tamaulipas, where cells of the Gulf Cartel, factions of Los Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel operate, many people appear resigned to living amid violence.<\/p>\n

A resident of Miguel Alem\u00e1n, a small town in Tamaulipas right on the border with Texas, said things are improving because shootings no longer last for hours, but just a while. The woman, who asked for anonymity because of security concerns, said neighbors can sit on their doorsteps and talk now, something that was impossible months ago because criminal groups would abduct anyone they saw on the streets.<\/p>\n

Sheinbaum\u2019s administration highlights progress on security, pointing to a decline in homicides since she took office in October 2024.<\/p>\n

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

Few dispute that the numbers reflect an improvement. But analysts note that people continue to disappear<\/a> and that violence remains acute in several parts of the country despite the decline in killings.<\/p>\n

Fear runs deep here after decades of violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople involved in organized crime sit down to watch soccer so things calm down a bit,\u201d said Jos\u00edas Ram\u00edrez, a worker at a maquila in Matamoros, next to Brownsville, Texas.<\/p>\n

But he said reality doesn\u2019t change. \u201cThe fear is ever-present because we live in a border society where crimes continue to happen in broad daylight.\u201d<\/p>\n

A thousand kilometers (620 miles) southwest, in Uruapan \u2014 the city in Michoacan whose mayor was assassinated<\/a> nearly eight months ago \u2014 hundreds of young people set aside their fears after Mexico\u2019s victory over South Korea and joined celebrations under the watch of security forces.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was dangerous because of everything that\u2019s going on, but to see some people going out gave me confidence,\u201d said Mar\u00eda Luisa Garc\u00eda, 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoungsters keep throwing themselves in risky situations \u2026 They know that eventually one of them will get caught up in trouble \u2026 and will probably die, but they like to party,\u201d said Juan Carlos Mora, a berry farmer in Uruapan. \u201cEvery day it\u2019s the same thing: today it just wasn\u2019t my turn, tomorrow, who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Verza reported from Mexico City. AP journalists Alba Alem\u00e1n in Xalapa, Veracruz, Alfredo Pe\u00f1a in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, and Armando Sol\u00eds in Uruapan, Michoacan, contributed.<\/p>

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Much of Mexico is celebrating the World Cup with joyous outdoor gatherings large and small \u2014 but in parts of the country plagued by cartel violence, the tournament is experienced differently: with fear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5241,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMexico's World Cup joy muted in regions gripped by cartel violence - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5243\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mexico's World Cup joy muted in regions gripped by cartel violence - 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