Mexico

Mexico is one of three co-hosts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside the United States and Canada, with matches scheduled in Mexico City (Estadio Azteca), Guadalajara (Estadio Akron), and Monterrey (Estadio BBVA). Azteca reopened on schedule before 84,130 fans on 28 March 2026 after months of renovation uncertainty, resolving the tournament's principal infrastructure risk for the opening venue.

President Claudia Sheinbaum deployed up to 100,000 security forces under Plan Kukulkan following the killing of CJNG cartel leader El Mencho in February, which triggered retaliatory violence killing at least 70 people across a dozen states. Guadalajara, a World Cup host city, passed two successive clean security operations during the intercontinental playoff semi-finals and final in late March, with 12,000 personnel deployed.

Mexico offered to host Iran's Group G matches after the US travel ban made American venues untenable for Iranian fans, but FIFA rejected the request on 17 March. Dallas Police sent a delegation to Monterrey on 8 April for the first cross-border policing arrangement in World Cup history, reflecting the security challenges of a tournament that straddles two countries with different enforcement environments. Human Rights Watch's April 2026 World Cup report noted that Mexico enacted a new law granting authorities virtually unlimited power to access citizen information without judicial authorisation.

In nomad and visitor policy, Mexico doubled most residency Visa fees effective 1 January 2026 — the one-year temporary residency fee rose 109% from 5,328 to 11,140.74 Mexican pesos — with no guidance issued on a nominal 50% reduction mechanism. Mexico City's Congress received a proposal in April 2026 to formally suspend the 182-night annual STR cap for the World Cup window of 1 June to 31 August 2026. Rent-cap legislation has been deferred until after the tournament ends on 19 July 2026. Mexican crude supply to Cuba ended in late January 2026, four months before Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy publicly confirmed on 13 May 2026 that the island had been Left depending on Russian Sovcomflot deliveries alone after Venezuelan supply stopped in November 2025.