World Cup Security Risks in Mexico: Fact and Fiction
Steven Dudley and Deborah Bonello argue that while organized crime is present in Mexico’s World Cup host cities, tourists are unlikely to be its target because criminal groups are focused on local markets and will face intense security scrutiny.
InSight Crime Co-Director Steven Dudley and Managing Editor Deborah Bonello separate fact from fiction about the security risks facing tourists traveling to Mexico for the World Cup, and look back at the ties between organized crime and soccer.
InSight Crime’s Co-Director Steven Dudley and Managing Editor Deborah Bonello separate fact from fiction around the security risks in Mexico for tourists coming to the World Cup, and look back at the connection between organized crime and soccer.
Transcription:
Transcription:
[00:00:00] Deborah: It is World Cup time, and millions of visitors are expected to travel in the coming weeks to Mexico’s host cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. I am Deborah Bonello, managing editor of InSight Crime, where, of course, we specialize in profiling, analyzing, and documenting organized crime groups across the Americas. And organized crime groups have a presence in all three World Cup cities.
[00:00:00] Deborah: It’s World Cup time, and millions of visitors are expected to travel to Mexico’s host cities, Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, in the next few weeks. I’m Deborah Bonello, managing editor of InSight Crime, where, of course, we specialize in profiling, analyzing, and documenting organized crime groups across the Americas, and organized crime groups have a presence in all three of the World Cup cities.
In this week’s InSight Take, Co-Director Steven Dudley and I will try to separate fact from fiction, asking whether tourists really should be worried about their safety, especially after the United States issued yet another travel warning for most of Mexico. We will also ask how criminal groups seek to profit from one of the world’s biggest sporting events, and what history soccer has with the mafia. Steve, thank you for joining me today.
In this week’s InSight Take, co-director Steven Dudley and I are going to try and separate fact from fiction, asking whether tourists really should be worried for their safety, especially after the US just published yet another travel warning for most of Mexico. We’ll also be asking how criminal groups seek to profit from one of the world’s biggest sporting events, and what soccer’s history is with the mafia. Steve, thanks for joining me today.
[00:00:54] Steven: Thanks, Deb.
[00:00:54] Steven: Thanks, Deb.
[00:00:56] Deborah: All right. Let’s begin with the basics. When people hear that Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey are hosting World Cup matches, they may assume that cartels are everywhere in Mexico. What is the reality on the ground?
[00:00:56] Deborah: All right. Well, let’s start with the basics. When people hear that Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey are hosting World Cup matches. They may assume that cartels are everywhere in Mexico. What’s the reality on the ground?
[00:01:13] Steven: Well, I mean, the reality is that, of course, there is organized crime in Mexico, and there is organized crime in these cities. But the idea that this is a war zone and that visitors are going to find themselves caught in the crossfire between rival cartels is a little ridiculous. That is not how organized crime generally works in Mexico, and certainly not during the World Cup.
[00:01:13] Steven: Well, I mean, the reality is that, of course, there is organized crime in Mexico, and there is organized crime in these cities. But the idea that this is a war zone and that they’re going to be in the middle of crossfire between different cartels is a little bit ridiculous. It’s not how organized crime works in Mexico generally, and certainly not during the World Cup.
Guadalajara is an important city, for example. It is the historical heartland of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación, CJNG). Monterrey is probably the place where something like that would be most likely to happen, because you have several different groups — the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and the Jalisco Cartel — all operating in and around the area. And then there is Mexico City, which has a very complex criminal landscape, with groups such as La Unión Tepito, Fuerza Anti-Unión, and others. But the reality, again, is that these groups are not fighting over tourists. They are focused on local criminal markets. Certainly, they sell drugs and engage in extortion; there is cargo theft and fuel theft. But all of this is localized, and they are not focused on tourists. If they were, it would bring trouble upon them and endanger their businesses. So they have no interest in going after anyone. If anything, they are probably going to keep a lower profile than they otherwise would, because of the enormous security presence.
Guadalajara is an important city, for example. It’s the historical heartland of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación—CJNG). Monterrey probably is the most likely place where something like that might happen, because you’ve got a bunch of different groups—the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, and the Jalisco Cartel—all in and around the area. And then you have Mexico City, which has a really complex criminal landscape. Groups like La Unión Tepito, Fuerza, Anti Unión, and others. The reality is again, these groups are not fighting over tourists. They’re focused on local criminal markets, and certainly they’re selling drugs and they’re extorting, there’s cargo theft and fuel theft, but this is all localized and they’re not, they’re not focused on tourists. And, if they were, it would get them in trouble and get their businesses in trouble. So they’re not interested in going after anybody. They’re probably going to keep a lower profile than they normally would otherwise because of the huge security presence.