Ireland's potential World Cup venue in Mexico under siege

National Guards patrol the area outside of the General Prosecutor's headquarters in Mexico City. Pic: AP Photo/Ginette Riquelme.

Violence had erupted in Guadalajara, one of the cities Ireland could play a World Cup match in, after one of the world’s most wanted drug traffickers, the Mexican cartel boss known as “El Mencho”, was killed.

Should Ireland hurdle two playoff games on March 26 and 31, they will qualify for a first World Cup since 2002. The European playoff winner's opening game in Group A against South Korea will be held in Guadalajara on June 11.

The military operation on Sunday set off a wave of violence, with torched cars and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states.

Guadalajara International Airport, where Ireland fans will converge on if the team qualify, was the scene of panic as the members of Cartel stormed the terminal, leaving terrified passengers hunkered down for cover. Several airlines cancelled flights in and out of the airport, which has since closed fully.

The drug lord, whose real name is Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was killed in the western state of Jalisco along with at least six alleged accomplices, the ministry said in a statement.

The 59-year-old gangster was the leader of a group that in recent years has become Mexico’s most powerful and notorious criminal organisation: the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

While less internationally famous than the Sinaloa cartel of the now imprisoned Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the Jalisco group is a household name in Mexico where it is infamous for its displays of ultraviolence and its big, military-style arsenal.

The US had offered a $15m (£11m) reward for the capture of the drug boss, who was accused of smuggling huge quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine across its southern border.

El Mencho’s cartel, which was founded about 16 years ago and became Mexico’s most influential crime group, was also accused of attempting to assassinate Mexican government officials.

Senior US officials celebrated El Mencho’s slaying, which follows months of pressure from Donald Trump over the influx of drugs and migrants across the 1,954-mile (3,145km) border between the two countries.

The US president has even threatened military action against cartels that he has claimed “are running Mexico”. Writing on X, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of state, called El Mencho “one of the bloodiest and most ruthless drug kingpins”.

He posted: “This is a great development for Mexico, the US, Latin America, and the world.” The exact circumstances of El Mencho’s killing, which analysts called the biggest blow to Mexico’s cartels in more than a decade, remained unclear on Sunday.

The defence ministry said special forces troops from the army and national guard had launched an operation in Tapalpa, a town about 80 miles south-west of Jalisco state’s capital, Guadalajara, to capture the fugitive drug lord, with support from the air force and military intelligence. While doing so, however, “military personnel came under attack” and fought back.

Four cartel members were killed at the scene, while another three died while being flown to Mexico City, among them El Mencho. Three troops were injured during the operation and were also transported to the capital for treatment, the ministry added.

Two alleged cartel members were arrested with weapons that included rocket launchers capable of bringing down aircraft and destroying armoured vehicles. Footage published in one regional newspaper, El Occidental, showed scenes of what appeared to be heavy fighting in Tapalpa, which is located in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountain range.

The defence ministry said US authorities had provided “complementary information” that had contributed to the operation’s success.

The Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel, which specializes in intelligence collection on drug cartels, played a role in the military raid, a US defence official told Reuters. The task force was quietly launched late last year with the goal of mapping out networks of drug cartel members on both sides of the US-Mexico border, US officials said.

In a sign of El Mencho’s huge influence across Mexico, as well as other parts of Latin America, his killing sparked an immediate outbreak of disorder across the region he ruled.

Media reports said that on Sunday lunchtime “narco” roadblocks made from burning cars, buses and trucks could be seen across at least eight Mexican states: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Nayarit, Michoacán, Colima, Guerrero, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. Video footage showed huge clouds of smoke rising into the skies above Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist city on Mexico’s west coast known for its spectacular Pacific Ocean beaches.

​One video posted on social media showed a group of heavily armed men setting fire to a petrol station in Guadalajara after pulling up in a white car.

Jalisco’s state governor, Pablo Lemus Navarro, urged its 8 million citizens to stay at home “until the situation is brought back under control”. Lemus said public transport services were being suspended and said people should not travel on the state’s roads because of the “violent events” that had spread to at least five parts of the country.

The US embassy in Mexico City also issued a security alert, urging US citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to “shelter in place” in affected regions as a result of “ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity”.

Canada’s government said: “Criminal groups have set up roadblocks with burning vehicles in several cities in Jalisco state … There have been shootouts with security forces and explosions … If you’re [there] keep a low profile [and] monitor local and international media to stay informed of the rapidly evolving situation.”

Reacting to the attacks after El Mencho’s killing, Landau wrote on X: “I’m watching the scenes of violence from Mexico with great sadness and concern. It’s not surprising that the bad guys are responding with terror. But we must never lose our nerve.”

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said: “There is absolute coordination with the governments of all states; we must stay informed and calm.

“The security cabinet’s social media accounts provide continuous updates. Activities are proceeding normally across most of the country.”