By Diego Oré
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, March 27 (Reuters) - Just over a month ago, Mexico's second-largest city Guadalajara was reeling from a wave of violence triggered by the capture and death of cartel boss Ruben "El Mencho" Oseguera. Streets were scattered with burnt-out cars, businesses were shuttered, and spent shell casings littered the ground.
On Thursday night, the city showed a very different face. Guadalajara hosted its first international football match since that military operation as it scrambles to assuage security concerns ahead of the World Cup, which Mexico will co-host with the U.S. and Canada.
In an intense playoff match with few scoring opportunities, the Reggae Boyz defeated New Caledonia 1-0 at the nearly full 50,000-capacity Akron Stadium and took a step closer to their dream of returning to a World Cup after 28 years.
"It was something that took place only one day. The next day everything was under control, so I didn’t cancel the plane tickets. I was always confident," said Rick Brown, a 53-year-old Jamaican-born Canadian, who arrived in the city on Tuesday with his two young children to cheer his team in its attempt to qualify for its second World Cup.
"I feel pretty safe. There are lots of guards," he added, pointing to the heavily armed officers outside the stadium. "The city is great. It reminds me of Jamaica: the people, the food, the weather, it’s like a home away from home".
But much of the focus was outside the ground.
Both squads arrived at the stadium under heavy security. Military and police personnel with rifles escorted the teams from the moment they landed in the city.
Guadalajara will host four group stage matches of the World Cup, welcoming teams such as Mexico, Spain, and Uruguay. The South Korean and Colombian squads have also chosen Guadalajara as their bases.
While the city has wanted to use the World Cup as a platform to attract more tourism and has touched up local infrastructure and beautified public squares ahead of the competition, the imminent arrival of some 3 million visitors has also put a spotlight on the cartel violence and thousands of missing people in the state of Jalisco, of which Guadalajara is the capital.
"We continue to reinforce security, especially within the state. We have reestablished an institutional presence and security measures so that people feel safe and secure wherever they go. And the best way to feel safe is to see security personnel nearby," said Jalisco's Secretary of Public Security, Juan Pablo Hernandez, explaining that more than 2,000 officers were ensuring the safety of the teams and attendees at the stadium.
"Jamaica vs New Caledonia is one of the most important test matches we have before the World Cup," he added, nodding that his staff has received training from the FBI and various police forces such as those of France and Colombia to address any unforeseen events related to insecurity.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has said the international football body is "analyzing" the situation in Mexico, but downplayed concerns and emphasized he had "total confidence" in the country, its President Claudia Sheinbaum, and the authorities.
DISAPPEARANCE CRISIS
In Mexico, over 132,000 people are reported missing. Jalisco, home of one of the country's two most powerful crime groups -- the Jalisco New Generation Cartel -- accounts for 10% of the total.
Sheinbaum has vowed to improve the ability of authorities to find the missing by improving coordination between law enforcement agencies and making it easier for data to be shared across state lines.
But researchers and relatives of the victims say that the number of disappeared could be even higher, as one in four cases goes unreported for fear of reprisals. Families across the country have decided to take justice into their own hands, criticizing local authorities for not doing enough, and sometimes searching for relatives and friends themselves.
In March of last year, in a case that shocked the country, a search group entered a ranch an hour west of Guadalajara after receiving an anonymous tip and found some 200 pairs of shoes, hundreds of articles of clothing, and charred human remains. Authorities later said the site appeared to be a killing site and training camp for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Since last year, search groups have found at least 500 bags containing human remains in four graves within a 20-kilometer radius of the Akron Stadium, highlighting the magnitude of the disappearance crisis plaguing the state.
"It’s not that we disagree with the World Cup; we disagree with the excessive public spending on aesthetics or cleaning areas for tourists, when Mexico is a country going through many crises, especially regarding public safety and disappearances," said Hector Flores, 45, co-founder of the Luz de Esperanza search group.
Speaking at a roundabout covered with posters of people who have disappeared in Jalisco, Flores recalled that his son, Hector Daniel, was taken from his home in May 2021 by the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office's personnel. Since then, he has made the search a way of life, and after years of institutional silence, in June, a court recognized his son as a victim of enforced disappearance, confirming not only the involvement of state agents in his disappearance but also acknowledging that the Mexican state has gravely violated its human rights obligations.
The Jalisco Attorney General’s Office didn't respond to a Reuters request for comment.
"The World Cup is an excellent opportunity to ask for help from the international community and for them to learn about the situation in Mexico. It's unacceptable that more than 133,000 families are searching for their loved ones and absolutely nothing is happening... Jalisco is a mass grave, all of Mexico is a mass grave," he said.
(Reporting by Diego Oré; Editing by Stephen Einsenhammer and Saad Sayeed)
