Mexican cartel clashes fuel worries about tourism in lead up to FIFA World Cup

Описание: (24 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++CLIENTS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS SHOTS OF DEAD BODY IN SHOT 9++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tapalpa, Mexico - 23 February 2026
1. Aerial of Tapalpa and surrounding areas where cartel leader was killed ++MUTE++
2. Various of National Guard soldier
3. Wide of store
4. Various of store owner María Dolores Aguirre in her store
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) María Dolores Aguirre, store owner:
"We could hear this thunder, explosions, not so much like bullets, not bullets, but we could hear noises like when the sky thunders as it's about to rain. We asked ourselves, what is that? We didn't know what kind of weapons those were."
6. Various of National Guard soldiers
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) María Dolores Aguirre, store owner:
"The government is going to have to have a lot of security. I think it will have an impact because everyone just saw what happened and, of course, people are going to think twice about coming. Yes, it will have an impact.”
8. Mid of National Guard vehicle
9. Mid of National Guard soldiers
10. Various of dead body by jeep ++CONTAINS SHOT OF DEAD BODY++
11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) María Dolores Aguirre, Store Owner:
"If they really did kill this leader, it could be that they fight between each other to win control or see who will lead it.”
12. Various of streets of Tapalpa
13. Aerial of Tapalpa and surrounding hills ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
Maria Dolores Aguirre’s family corner store has lived off tourism that has flowed into her charming cobblestoned town of Tapalpa, tucked away in the mountains of Jalisco state.

That was until gunshots erupted and helicopters flew overhead as the Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord, just a few kilometers (miles) from her home.

Now, the 50-year-old Aguirre worries that the bloodshed will deal a blow to her livelihood and change towns like hers.

It is something many in the western Mexican state are grappling with, from its Pacific Ocean beaches to its capital Guadalajara that will host matches in June for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“It’s going to affect us,” Aguirre said.

"The government is going to have to have a lot of security. … Everyone just saw what happened and, of course, people are going to think twice about coming."

Fighting between the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and Mexican security forces raged on in a number of states Monday, fueling fears among many like Aguirre that there will be more violence to come.

Just outside Tapalpa, a dead man lay on the road next to a Jeep sprayed with bullets. Circumstances surrounding the incident were not clear.

More than 70 people died in the attempt to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and its aftermath, authorities said Monday.

Known as "El Mencho,” he was the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico.

Oseguera was known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against Mexican government officials.

The death of Oseguera Cervantes came as Mexico's government has stepped up its offensive against cartels in an effort to meet demands by U.S. President Donald Trump to crack down on criminal groups, threatening to impose more tariffs or take unilateral military action if the country does not show results.

Oseguera Cervantes died after a shootout with the Mexican military on Sunday.

Mexican Defense Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla said Monday that authorities had tracked one of his romantic partners to his hideout in Tapalpa.










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