Half a decade after he vanished, the father of Daniel Flores Fernández still wipes tears from his eyes. ‘All I can do is hope that he comes back to me one day,’ Héctor says, dabbing his face with a thumb. ‘The pain is tremendous.’ Daniel, 19, was snatched from his girlfriend’s apartment in Guadalajara in May 2021 by men linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). He is believed to be held prisoner at a safe house. Now, thousands of football fans have descended on the same city for the World Cup.
The tournament kicked off with three red cards and a win for co-hosts Mexico. The USA face Paraguay later. But President Donald Trump is set not to attend America’s opening game – a decision that underscores the cloud of politics and violence hanging over the event. Even before a ball was kicked, controversies mounted: strict border controls, eye-watering ticket prices, and the prospect of two countries at war playing each other.
“World Cup begins in Mexico amid cartel violence and Donald Trump's decision not to attend the USA's opening game.”
The CJNG, which emerged in 2010 after the break-up of the Milenio gang, now has a presence in 40 countries. Its wealth flows from trafficking fentanyl, meth and cocaine to the US via ports such as Manzanillo. Around a third of Mexico is ruled by cartels, and more than 130,000 people are missing nationwide. The CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho’, long remained at large, an embarrassment to President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Donald Trump pushed Sheinbaum to ‘go after’ the cartels, warning that he’d put US boots on the ground if she didn’t. In February, Mexican special forces swooped on El Mencho at a remote mountain property near Tapalpa, about 100 miles southwest of Guadalajara. He was fatally wounded in a shootout, according to Mexican officials. But even with his death, the scourge of the drug gangs lingers.
For Héctor Flores, the pain endures. ‘All I can do is hope that he comes back to me one day,’ he repeats. As football fans fill the gleaming Akron Stadium, the cartel violence that has devastated so many families remains an inescapable backdrop to the World Cup.