Guadalajara

Mexican forces killed CJNG founder Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes on 22 February 2026, ending the leadership of a cartel whose fentanyl-trafficking network reached at least two dozen countries; the DEA had carried a $10m bounty on him . Retaliation followed inside Guadalajara itself, where cartel members burned buses and blocked major roads as part of violence that killed at least 70 people across a dozen states .

The city's own World Cup security readiness was tested within weeks: a 12,000-strong deployment with anti-drone systems and AI-driven surveillance held through the 26 March playoff semi-finals and DR Congo's 31 March extra-time win over Jamaica without significant incident, evidence Plan Kukulkan cited before committing Guadalajara to four group-stage fixtures .

Estadio Akron went on to host Group A and knockout fixtures through the tournament, including an opening co-host win on 18 June and a 3-0 group-stage victory on 24 June that closed a perfect record for the home nation .

The venue's security stayed live rather than ceremonial: the military shot down a drone flying over an opponent's closed training session nearby on 18 June, hours before the two sides met at the stadium, one of several drone interceptions carried out across Mexican host cities during the tournament under the same federal security operation validated in Guadalajara back in March .

A Guadalajara reporter has been tallying Jalisco state's World Cup spending contract by contract since the tournament began, with the running total reaching 445.7 million pesos by late July 2026, up from 377 million in mid-June .

The rise largely reflects more contracts surfacing rather than genuine overspend; the single largest item, a 300 million peso deal to run the Fan Festival, was known from the outset. The running count itself, assembled independently rather than published by the state, is the more durable story about how Guadalajara accounts for its hosting costs.