{"id":191311,"date":"2026-02-24T11:21:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T11:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191311\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T11:21:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T11:21:08","slug":"mexican-cartel-clashes-fuel-worries-in-lead-up-to-fifa-world-cup-nbc-7-san-diego","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/191311\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican cartel clashes fuel worries in lead up to FIFA World Cup \u2013 NBC 7 San Diego"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maria Dolores Aguirre\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

That was until gunshots erupted and helicopters flew overhead as the Mexican army killed the country\u2019s most powerful drug lord, just a few kilometers (miles) from her home.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to affect us. It\u2019s collateral damage,\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cThe government is going to have to have a lot of security. \u2026 The entire world just saw what happened and, of course, people are going to think twice about coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

More than 70 people died in the attempt to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and its aftermath, authorities said Monday. Known as \u201cEl Mencho,\u201d he was the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against Mexican government officials.<\/p>\n

The White House confirmed that the U.S. provided intelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico\u2019s army for taking down a man who was one of the most wanted criminals in both countries. The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of “El Mencho.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Mexico hoped the death of one of the world\u2019s biggest fentanyl traffickers would ease that pressure, but many people were anxious as they waited to see the powerful cartel\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n

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. The cartel leader and two bodyguards fled into a wooded area where they were seriously wounded in a firefight. They were taken into custody and died on the way to Mexico City, Trevilla said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"infographic\"\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tYilmaz Yucel\/Anadolu via Getty ImagesYilmaz Yucel\/Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as \u00e2El Mencho, the leader of the New Generation Jalisco Cartel was killed by Mexican military forces during an operation in the western state of Jalisco. <\/p>\n

In the aftermath, a sense of unease simmered in tourist towns.<\/p>\n

The Pacific Ocean resort city of Puerto Vallarta also was hard hit by cartel reprisals, frightening tourists.<\/p>\n

Steve Perkins, 57, was visiting Puerto Vallarta with his wife Gayle and some friends. They were on their hotel room’s terrace when explosions and black smoke started appearing around the city Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

Their return to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, was delayed when their flight was canceled Monday and they were rebooked for March 1. <\/p>\n

Perkins and his wife have been taking annual trips to Puerto Vallarta since 2012 and have always felt safe, until now. He said they don\u2019t plan on returning to Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of Americans trapped here,\u201d Perkins said.<\/p>\n

Back in Tapalpa, Aguirre worked next to her son from the small neighborhood shop her family has owned for 50 years. The 15-year-old’s classes were canceled due to the violence. <\/p>\n

Aguirre said it was unclear who exactly was in control of the area surrounding her: the military or the cartel. The other question on her mind was if this was just a one-off, or if there was more violence to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t know if these people (cartel leaders) are permanently here or not,\u201d she said. \u201cIf they really did kill this leader, it could be that they fight between each other to win control or see who will lead it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDrone footage recorded Sunday showed columns of black smoke from burning cars and buildings across Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, after a cartel leader was killed.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

__<\/p>\n

AP writer Juan Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maria Dolores Aguirre\u2019s family corner store has lived off tourism that has flowed into her charming cobblestoned town…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":191312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[11190,2457,74,76,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-191311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-fifa-world-cup","9":"tag-mexico","10":"tag-san-diego","11":"tag-san-diego-headlines","12":"tag-san-diego-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/191311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/191312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=191311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=191311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}