Fifa boss Gianni Infantino ‘very reassured’ about World Cup in Mexico despite violence
Host city Guadalajara rocked by attacks, while Portuguese Football Federation casts doubt on team playing friendly on March 29 in Mexico City
Fifa boss Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday he was “very reassured” about Mexico’s hosting of games in the football World Cup, in his first comments on the violence triggered by the killing of a drug cartel leader.
Mexico is one of the three host countries for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, along with the United States and Canada.
“Very reassured, everything’s good. It’s going to be spectacular,” Infantino said in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, two days after cartel members went on a rampage – including in host city Guadalajara – over the army’s killing of their leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera.
The country as a whole, but particularly Guadalajara, was shaken by the violence that followed the killing of the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
At least 74 people were killed during the operation to capture him at a ranch near Guadalajara and subsequent clashes between the security forces and suspected cartel members.
Only one was a civilian, according to the government, but residents and tourists alike were left scurrying for cover as cartel gunmen blocked roads in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states and torched vehicles and businesses.