In this World Cup host city in Mexico, residents are feeling increasingly unsafe

By Uriel Blanco, CNN

(CNN) — With just under two months to go before the 2026 World Cup, one of the tournament’s host cities in Mexico is experiencing a worrying trend.

In Guadalajara, a city in Jalisco state plagued by drug violence and thousands of cases of disappeared people, residents are feeling increasingly unsafe.

Nine in 10 residents, or 90.2%, view the situation in the area as insecure, according to a national public safety survey published Friday by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).

That’s up from 79.2% of those surveyed in December 2025, according to Inegi, which described the increase as a “statistically significant difference.”

Security in Mexico, one of three countries in North America hosting the World Cup, has been a major concern in the lead-up to the tournament. In the Guadalajara metropolitan area, these concerns have grown since February, when federal forces carried out an operation in Jalisco to arrest Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, aka “El Mencho,” leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The group is considered one of the “most powerful and ruthless criminal organizations” in Mexico, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration. It was designated a terrorist organization by the US just a few weeks into the second term of President Donald Trump.

“El Mencho” was seriously wounded in the operation and died en route to the hospital. His death unleashed chaos and a wave of violence in various parts of Jalisco, including Guadalajara, Zapopan and Puerto Vallarta.

In Zapopan, a city in the Guadalajara metro area that’s home to the stadium hosting World Cup matches, the perception of insecurity has also increased.

In the latest survey in the city, respondents for which were interviewed starting on February 23, just one day after the death of “El Mencho,” 70% of them said they felt unsafe.

That figure is more than 16 percentage points higher than in December, when over 54% reported feeling unsafe. In the first quarter of 2025, the figure was 44.6%.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Vallarta, the view of insecurity is below the national average of 61.5%, but it still saw a significant increase in Friday’s survey.

In fact, the popular resort city showed the largest increase nationwide – almost 28 percentage points – rising from 32% in December of last year to 59.9%. This means the number of people who now feel less safe has practically doubled.

With a 90.2% perception of insecurity, Guadalajara ranks as the second city in the entire country where people feel most unsafe. It trails only Irapuato (92.1%) in Guanajuato, another state plagued by organized crime. So far in 2026, Guanajuato leads the national registry of violent deaths with 413 victims of intentional homicides and five of femicide.

What about the other Mexican host cities?

In Mexico City, the perception of insecurity has remained relatively stable in the two municipalities closest to Banorte Stadium, which will host the World Cup for the third time.

More than 44% of those interviewed said they felt unsafe in the borough of Coyoacán, a decrease from 47.2% in December. The Tlalpan borough registered a slight increase, rising from 55.7% in December to 57.9% in the survey published Friday.

The third World Cup venue in Mexico is Monterrey, the capital of the state of Nuevo León. In this city, 59.7% of those interviewed said they felt unsafe, a notable decrease compared to 67.4% in December.

The city of Guadalupe, where Monterrey Stadium is located, also saw a decrease in the perception of insecurity, going from 44.2% in December to 37% in April.

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CNN’s Michael Rios contributed to this report.