JAKARTA - Four matches of Mexico's highest football league (Liga MX) were postponed on Sunday, February 22, 2026, after the Mexican army killed a powerful drug cartel leader in a city near the host city of the 2026 World Cup, Guadalajara.
Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, nicknamed El Mencho--heads the Jalisco Nueva Generacion Cartel (CJNG)--was wounded in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about two hours drive southwest of Guadalajara. He died while being flown to Mexico City.
After his death, cartel members burned cars and blocked roads in nearly a dozen Mexican states.
Two Liga MX matches - Queretaro vs Juarez FC (Liga MX) and Chivas vs America (Liga MX Femenil/girls) - were postponed and two matches in the second division were canceled.
The Mexican National Team (National Team) is scheduled to play a friendly match against Iceland on Thursday, February 26, 2026, morning WIB, at the Corregidora Stadium, Queretaro. The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) has not taken any public steps to postpone it.
Meanwhile, Guadalajara - the capital of Jalisco - is scheduled to host four 2026 World Cup matches in June, including two involving South Korea. Mexico, Spain, Uruguay, and Colombia will also play there.
The CJNG cartel is considered the most powerful cartel in Mexico, with an estimated 19,000 members and operations that span 21 of the 32 states. The cartel has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration.
The ATP tennis tournament, the Mexican Open, begins Monday, February 23, 2026, at the GNP Arena in Acapulco, Guerrero. Organizers issued a statement a day earlier saying the tournament was continuing as usual.
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