Mexican authorities reported on Thursday (19) that they are on alert to prevent Colombians linked to drug cartels from taking advantage of the World Cup to enter the country, an official from the state of Jalisco, whose capital, Guadalajara, is one of the tournament’s host cities, told AFP.
This preventive measure is due to the growing involvement of former foreign soldiers, mainly Colombians, with the Mexican cartels.
“We are on permanent alert with the National Migration Institute, the National Guard (…) we have already deported some Colombian citizens who were unable to prove the reason for their presence” in Jalisco, in western Mexico, said Roberto Alarcón, the state’s general coordinator of strategic security. In Jalisco, “there have already been people who came to recruit for one of the cartels,” he said.
Foreigners who work with these criminal groups “will certainly take advantage of tourist packages and everything else to infiltrate” this Mexican region, Alarcón added.
Last June, the Mexican Army arrested ten former Colombian soldiers during an operation in the neighboring state of Michoacán, following an explosion that killed six Mexican soldiers.
According to experts, the disarmament of the FARC guerrillas in 2017 and the reduction of the military budget in Colombia encouraged the arrival of former guerrillas and former soldiers from that country to join criminal groups in Mexico.
The situation was repeated in countries in conflict, such as Sudan and Ukraine.
Guadalajara, capital of Jalisco, is preparing to welcome tens of thousands of foreign visitors with more than 2,000 surveillance cameras, drones and equipment to combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to ensure safety during the World Cup in North America.
The biggest World Cup in history, which will feature the participation of 48 teams between June 11 and July 19, is being jointly organized by Mexico, the United States and Canada.
“We certainly have all the necessary equipment available, from motorized vehicles to drones, anti-drone systems to cover the airspace and helicopters from the institutions that will be working on this,” said Alarcón.
In the metropolitan region of Guadalajara, the second largest in Mexico, with 3.5 million inhabitants, there is the Guadalajara Stadium, with capacity for approximately 48,000 fans.
The stadium will host four World Cup matches, including Mexico’s second group stage game on June 18 against South Korea.
