The criminal cartels cashing in on the World Cup
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is The Guardian.
Today, the cartels cashing in on the World Cup.
In just a few days time, football fans from across the world will celebrate the kickoff of the World Cup 2026. Jointly hosted this time around by the US, Canada and Mexico, the tournament will open in Mexico City and then the world's biggest sporting event will go on to the city of Guadalajara.
Guadalajara is not a new World Cup city. It has a legendary World Cup past, you know, in 1970 and again in 1986, the World Cup played in Guadalajara became almost mythical. Pelé's Brazil played there in 1970. Then Zico and Socrates played there in 1986.
What are the risks for fans attending the World Cup in Guadalajara?
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. It's going to be festive in so many ways. But of course, 2026 is different.
Different because Guadalajara also happens to be the capital of a state, Jalisco, which has now become the epicenter of one of the most notorious criminal outfits in Mexican history.
Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación has become the most aggressive and successful criminal organization in modern Mexican history. It has militarized more aggressively and more openly than almost any cartel before it, and it has expanded operations all across the globe.
Mexico's president has announced there will be a huge security presence during the tournament because she knows just one bad incident could have major consequences.
You have a government in Washington that is really just waiting for the right moment and the right excuse to go into Mexico and take unilateral military actions. The tournament arrives in the most difficult time in modern Mexican history. Will tourists face spectacular violence? I don't think so. But the potential for, with so many people coming, something going wrong is there. For the sake of my country and its people, I just hope nothing like that happens.
From The Guardian, I'm Annie Kelly. Today in Focus, why the World Cup could bring danger as well as delight to Mexico.
Leon Crassé, you're a journalist native to Mexico and your work often focuses on international politics, particularly in the US and Latin America, but you have many strings to your bow. You are a contributor to the New Yorker and the Washington Post's global opinion section. You write a weekly column for Mexico's El Universal, but you also started out your career as a sports reporter. So I just wanted to ask you,
how do you feel that your country is going to be hosting the world cup this year is this a big moment for you personally an incredibly big moment i met my wife 20 years ago after the first match mexico played in 2006 world cup i was working for the mexican soccer federation and she was there as a fan and they've got two they're looking for more to really
Underline there, Supremacy, the crossing is good! Three it is! It's Mexico's day, Ensenio! Mexico three, Iran one!
And now we're going to Azteca Stadium. We were lucky enough to get tickets for just that match. Just that match. June 11, 2026. 20 years later, we're going to go to a stadium with our three boys. Oh, that's beautiful. I'm very, very excited. I hope the team does well. And if we get the chance to play England...
How has the history of football in Guadalajara shaped its current significance?
in Azteca Stadium on July 5th, round of 16, under the Mexico City sun, that would be full circle for me.
It's definitely really exciting. But, Leon, there are some trepidations as well, aren't there? Because among the inaugural matches, there will be one in Guadalajara. It's the capital of Jalisco, which is also home to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which is this infamous criminal group that has been in the news a lot recently. So can you tell me a bit about the cartel and how it compares to other criminal syndicates in Mexico?
Yes, and this is the Mexican government's main concern. It sits there in the back of our minds as the tournament begins. The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, or CJNG as it's known, has become probably Mexico's most successful, violent, sinister criminal organization.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:03
2
What are the risks for fans attending the World Cup in Guadalajara?
1:03–4:38
3
How has the history of football in Guadalajara shaped its current significance?
4:38–10:53
4
What makes the Jalisco New Generation Cartel a major concern during the World Cup?
10:53–12:08
5
What security measures are being implemented for the World Cup in Mexico?
12:08–23:55
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Today in Focus
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