FIFA President Gianni Infantino has 'full confidence' in Mexico World Cup games despite cartel violence

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is inactive expecting to play the scheduled FIFA World Cup games successful Mexico this summer, contempt the rampant cartel unit that has struck the region. 

Cartel unit ensued pursuing the decease of Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, Mexico’s most-wanted fentanyl kingpin, was captured and killed connected Sunday aft authorities tracked his romanticist spouse to a concealed rendezvous determination this past weekend. He carried a $15 cardinal U.S. bounty aft rising to powerfulness pursuing the apprehension of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the erstwhile caput of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

Oseguera Cervantes was the caput of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and since his death, unit has dispersed crossed the state wherever astatine slightest 70 radical person been killed.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a 2026 shot World Cup quality league Thursday, June 16, 2022, successful New York.  (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

But Infantino said helium has "full confidence" successful the games scheduled to beryllium played, adjacent the matches successful June astatine Estadio Akron successful Guadalajara – the largest metropolis successful Jalisco, which has been deed hard by cartel violence. 

There are 4 matches scheduled successful Guadalajara, and 13 full matches successful Mexico, with Mexico City and Monterrey besides playing big during the World Cup. The archetypal matches are connected June 11 successful Guadalajara and Mexico City. 

"Nobody has to determination anything," Infantino told the Miami Herald. "We are successful changeless interaction with the presidency of Mexico, with the authorities. We person afloat spot successful the authorities successful Mexico, successful President [Claudia] Sheinbaum and her team. We afloat enactment them due to the fact that we unrecorded successful a satellite wherever things happen. Good things and atrocious things, situations happen. We don’t unrecorded connected the moon, we unrecorded here. We request to woody with it, we request to header with it.

Infantino added that FIFA is "monitoring the situation, of course." 

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives a media briefing from the National Palace successful Mexico City connected Oct. 2. (AP/Fernando Llano)

"Mexico is simply a shot country. And the Mexicans, the authorities and besides the radical volition bash everything to guarantee the World Cup, but besides the playoffs, volition beryllium a solemnisation of football."

Sheinbaum besides said she has "every guarantee" the World Cup volition spell connected and determination is "no risk" to fans reasoning astir heading to the matches successful the country. 

Mexico is besides acceptable to big a World Cup playoff crippled adjacent period featuring Jamaica connected March 26. 

Soccer successful the state has already been affected by the violence, arsenic 4 matches were postponed connected Sunday.   

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"The games are astatine the extremity of March, truthful we inactive person different period to spot what happens; but it is making maine precise nervous, to beryllium honest," Michael Ricketts, the president of the Jamaican Soccer Federation, said successful a connection per the New York Post. "We volition beryllium listening retired for CONCACAF and FIFA to springiness america instructions [on] whether they are playing the games oregon whether they are instantly looking for different options."

Oseguera Cervantes’ seizure and consequent decease marks 1 of Mexico’s astir important blows to cause trafficking and organized transgression since President Donald Trump called for intensified crackdowns connected cartel violence.

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