Mexican authorities are trying to stop Colombians linked to local cartels from using the World Cup to enter the country, a security official in Jalisco, one of the tournament’s host states, told AFP on Thursday.
People “have come to be recruited by the cartels,” said Roberto Alarcon, Jalisco’s general coordinator for strategic security, citing the growing trend of Colombian ex‑soldiers and former guerrillas joining organized crime groups.
Alarcon said security agencies have already turned back several Colombians who “could not prove the reason they were here,” warning that foreign recruits may try to enter Jalisco using tourist packages as the World Cup approaches.
State capital Guadalajara is “unfortunately a place of interest for certain criminals who try to do their business here,” Alarcon added.
The participation of foreign ex‑fighters has grown in recent years, he said, with cartels, militias and armies seeking recruits who bring military training and experience from Colombia’s long conflict with guerrilla groups.
Last June the Mexican army detained 10 former Colombian soldiers in neighboring Michoacan after a landmine blast killed six Mexican soldiers, a case officials say shows the scale of the recruitment trend.
Experts note that the 2017 demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and shrinking military budgets for Bogota have pushed ex‑fighters abroad in search of work, including with Mexico’s criminal groups.
Colombian mercenaries have been coveted by militias and crime groups around the world for their combat experience in fighting leftist guerrillas. For over a decade, they have been documented working as mercenaries in global conflicts in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, and Sudan.
In Mexico, where most Colombians have fought in Michoacan, several hours from Guadalajara, authorities have dismantled Colombian mercenary cells dedicated to the construction of bombs dropped from internet-bought drones.
Guadalajara, a 2026 host city and the capital of Jalisco, is preparing with more than 2,000 surveillance cameras, drones and anti‑drone teams, alongside air and ground units, to secure matches during the tournament which kicks off in June.
The city has a significantly higher number of disappeared people and clandestine graves than other urban centers such as Monterrey or Mexico City.
Jalisco’s capital, whose population of 3.5 million makes it the second largest city in Mexico, is preparing to receive tens of thousands of visitors from around the world for the quadrennial sporting blockbuster.
The Guadalajara Stadium is capable of holding up to 48,000 fans.
Guadalajara will host four World Cup matches, including the Mexican team’s second group‑stage game on June 18 against South Korea.
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