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Mexico’s hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was meant to showcase national pride, soccer passion, and cultural unity before a global audience. Instead, the tournament has unfolded against the backdrop of some of the country’s deepest crises: cartel violence, forced disappearances, killings of public officials and journalists, and protests by families searching for missing loved ones.

The July 7 killing of Benjamín Medrano Quezada, Mexico’s first openly gay mayor, brought those realities into even sharper focus.

Medrano, 59, was shot and killed in Guadalajara, Jalisco, after leaving an ice cream shop in the Santa Elena de la Cruz neighborhood. According to authorities, gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire multiple times, striking him in the head and face.

Medrano served as mayor of Fresnillo, Zacatecas—one of Mexico’s largest municipalities and a strategic corridor for drug trafficking—from 2013 to 2015 before later serving as a federal deputy. He made history as one of Mexico’s first openly gay mayors and was also known as a singer, businessman, and owner of a gay bar in Fresnillo.

Family members and political figures demanded a thorough investigation, but many fear his case will become another unresolved violent crime in a country suffering from widespread impunity.

Mexico’s national registry now lists more than 135,000 missing persons, a figure that has increased since the escalation of the country’s drug war in the mid-2000s. Many disappearances are believed to be linked to organized criminal groups.

Families refused to let the World Cup overshadow their search for justice, transforming the international event into a platform for protest and demands for answers.

In Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, relatives marched toward World Cup venues carrying photographs of missing loved ones.

On the eve of the opening match at Estadio Azteca, hundreds gathered demanding answers and carrying signs declaring: “Mexico, Champion of Disappearances.”

In Guadalajara, search collective Luz de Esperanza created World Cup-style stickers featuring missing people wearing Mexico’s national team jersey, spreading the message: “We are not in a safe country.”

Search groups continued excavating clandestine burial sites near World Cup host cities, recovering hundreds of bags containing human remains.

Protesters emphasized they were not against soccer or the World Cup, but criticized the government for prioritizing the tournament while the disappearance crisis remains unresolved.

The contrast between World Cup celebrations and national tragedy became impossible to ignore.

Following Mexico’s victories, including a Round of 32 win over Ecuador, celebrations in Mexico City turned deadly. At least four people died near the Angel of Independence due to crowd-related incidents and medical emergencies.

Although unrelated to cartel violence, these deaths highlighted the broader challenges of public safety and institutional trust in Mexico.

The violence also extended to those reporting on the country’s crises.

In Veracruz, crime reporter Luis Ángel López Valdez was killed on the same day Mexico opened its World Cup campaign. Another journalist, Roxana Guzmán, was abducted and later found dead.

Mexico remains one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. More than 150 media workers have been killed or disappeared since 2000, with the majority of cases remaining unsolved.

The security crisis is rooted in cartel violence, territorial disputes, extortion networks, and systemic impunity.

Families of missing people are often forced to create volunteer search collectives that locate clandestine graves and pressure authorities for answers.

For the Hispanic diaspora, especially Mexican Americans, these events resonate beyond Mexico because of family connections, cultural ties, and billions of dollars in remittances.

The killing of Benjamín Medrano, the protests by families of the disappeared, the murders of journalists, and the violence surrounding World Cup celebrations reveal a nation trying to present its best image to the world while confronting serious internal security and justice challenges.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws to a close, the global spotlight may fade, but for thousands of Mexican families, the struggle continues: seeking justice for victims, protecting journalists and human rights defenders, reforming institutions, and ending the cycle of unresolved violence and loss.

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About The Author Maria Herrera Mellado

María Herrera Mellado es una abogada y analista política muy respetada. Licenciada en Derecho en EE.UU. y España, también tiene un doctorado en Ciencias Jurídicas y varios títulos de la Universidad de Granada (España), de la Universidad de Arizona y de la Florida International University. Con amplia experiencia en derecho internacional, asesoría en inversiones, representación en inmigración, y protección de la privacidad y lucha anticorrupción, ha asesorado a organizaciones y políticos europeos, estadounidenses e hispanoamericanos. Ha escrito sobre seguridad nacional e inmigración, protección de datos, derecho constitucional, consumo financiero y derecho bancario en revistas internacionales y coescribió libros publicados en Perú y Colombia. Es reconocida por su servicio comunitario en EE.UU. y es considerada una de las mujeres más influyentes de Florida. Es experta en varios idiomas y participa frecuentemente en debates en canales como Univisión, Fox, France 24, Telemundo y es la Editora Jefe de Gateway Hispanic.