Mexico's World Cup joy muted in regions gripped by cartel violence

CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — Much of Mexico has been celebrating the World Cup with joyful outdoor gatherings, filling streets, plazas and fan zones in the country's three host cities — Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey — since the tournament kickoff on June 11. But in parts of the country plagued by cartel violence, the event is experienced differently: with fear.

In villages and towns across Mexico where shootings are a near-daily occurrence, the cheers are mostly confined indoors. There, real-life concerns outrank the excitement around a World Cup in which Mexico has reached the knockout stage.

“I really like football, but … we’re nervous,” a lime grower from Michoacan, one of the states with the highest concentration of criminal groups fighting each other, told the Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. During a recent World Cup match, he said, local cartels were launching explosives from drones at a nearby ranch.

“In previous years, people would get together to watch the games and place bets. Not anymore. ... There’s no party here, there’s only exhaustion,” he said.

Further north is Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, where rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have fueled nearly two years of violence. It sits about 1,040 kilometers (645 miles) from Mexico City.

It might as well be a world away.

Rather than taking to the streets, many residents seek out quiet spots, gather at friends’ homes or head to one of the few pubs showing the matches to forget, if only for a couple of hours, that their lives are shaped by violence.

José Miguel Taniyama, a chef and restaurant owner in the city of 1 million, hoped the World Cup would help revive sales after a two-year economic crisis caused by the fighting, a conflict that shut businesses and led to the loss of nearly 60,000 jobs in Sinaloa, according to official figures

For the opening game of the World Cup in which Mexico triumphed over South Africa, just two tables were occupied as the game began. The situation improved days later but not as he hoped.

“Business has been slow. We had some reservations but not at full capacity, and sales aren't as strong as they were during similar events,” he said, adding that, as soon as the match ends, “people run home” because of the violence.

On the other side of the country, in Poza Rica, an area on the Gulf of Mexico where cartel violence has recently intensified, the streets were empty after Mexico faced off against North Korea on June 18.

“No one went out to celebrate,” said Guillermo Núñez, a 28-year-old business owner and soccer player for a local team, who walked a friend home after they watched the game together.

Celebrations that once followed big games have largely disappeared out of fear of going out at night, he said, and many people close to him are changing their routines. This year, two journalists were killed near his home. “The violence has stolen even the desire to go out and watch soccer.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has put a positive spin on all things World Cup. Pressure from the United States on economic and security issues continues, but U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson lauded the collaboration between the two nations to ensure a successful World Cup, including the deployment of more than 100,000 Mexican security forces across the country.

“People are happy, super happy” with the World Cup, Sheinbaum said last week. On Wednesday, she said Mexico was sending the world a message of “joy, happiness and excitement” as it hosts the tournament.

Some fans acknowledged that one of the reasons they're losing themselves in the games was to temporarily forget their country’s most painful experiences.

“We Mexicans know how to appreciate a victory because we’ve been through many very painful and humanitarian disastrous events,” said Juan Pablo de los Santos, a fan who celebrated at a gathering attended by thousands in Mexico City after Mexico's win against South Korea.

In cities across Tamaulipas, where cells of the Gulf Cartel, factions of Los Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel operate, many people appear resigned to living amid violence.

A resident of Miguel Alemán, a small town in Tamaulipas right on the border with Texas, said things are improving because shootings no longer last for hours, but just a while. The woman, who asked for anonymity because of security concerns, said neighbors can sit on their doorsteps and talk now, something that was impossible months ago because criminal groups would abduct anyone they saw on the streets.

Sheinbaum's administration highlights progress on security, pointing to a decline in homicides since she took office in October 2024.

Last week, the Mexican government released updated figures showing an average of 50.4 homicides a day from January through May, the lowest rate in a decade for that period. In June, the daily average dropped to 39.

Few dispute that the numbers reflect an improvement. But analysts note that people continue to disappear and that violence remains acute in several parts of the country despite the decline in killings.

Fear runs deep here after decades of violence.

“People involved in organized crime sit down to watch soccer so things calm down a bit,” said Josías Ramírez, a worker at a maquila in Matamoros, next to Brownsville, Texas.

But he said reality doesn’t change. “The fear is ever-present because we live in a border society where crimes continue to happen in broad daylight.”

A thousand kilometers (620 miles) southwest, in Uruapan — the city in Michoacan whose mayor was assassinated nearly eight months ago — hundreds of young people set aside their fears after Mexico's victory over South Korea and joined celebrations under the watch of security forces.

“I thought it was dangerous because of everything that’s going on, but to see some people going out gave me confidence,” said María Luisa García, 19.

“Youngsters keep throwing themselves in risky situations … They know that eventually one of them will get caught up in trouble … and will probably die, but they like to party,” said Juan Carlos Mora, a berry farmer in Uruapan. “Every day it’s the same thing: today it just wasn’t my turn, tomorrow, who knows?”

Verza reported from Mexico City. AP journalists Alba Alemán in Xalapa, Veracruz, Alfredo Peña in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, and Armando Solís in Uruapan, Michoacan, contributed.

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, second from left, poses for a group photo with mascot Merlin the duck, dressed in a Mexican national soccer team jersey, and his caretakers; Carla Gomez and her sons Carlos, and Christian, at the National Palace in Mexico City, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

FILE - Relatives of a victim of a fatal armed attack look on as forensic workers investigate the scene, in Culiacán, Sinaloa state, Mexico, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

FILE - Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, right, and amateur soccer player Yolett Cervantes reach to catch a soccer ball during a ceremony distributing tickets to the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico City, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

FILE - A National Guardsman stands guard as forensic experts inspect the site where the body of a victim of a fatal armed attack was found in Culiacán, Sinaloa state, Mexico, April 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

FILE - Soccer fans get revved up at a watch party for the World Cup match between Mexico and Czechia on Reforma Ave., near the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A father holds the hand of his daughter dressed as a fairy. A 24-year-old man in a pilot uniform stares proudly at the camera. A family embraces on a soccer field.

They are among the images posted by relatives within Venezuela and abroad desperately searching for their missing loved ones following two powerful, back-to-back earthquakes on Wednesday evening.

Hundreds have been killed and thousands injured. The number of casualties is expected to climb after the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes that caused widespread damage and were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century.

With communication patchy, social media and online registries have become a crucial tool for many Venezuelans seeking information and resources beyond sparse government statistics. Independent online registries documenting up to 40,000 people missing far surpass the official government account.

While some rushed to search beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings, others created digital flyers on WhatsApp, Facebook and X with their relatives’ details.

Among them was Vanesa Marcano, 31, who posted photos from Madrid of her uncle and aunt, who live in La Guaira state, north of the capital Caracas, which suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties.

Marcano posted the images in the hopes that they were only unreachable due to damaged communication lines. Her uncle’s daughter and his 7-year-old grandson were visiting from the United States and also are missing.

“It’s a feeling of impotence and uncertainty,” Marcano said by phone. “I know you must stay calm and focus on the actions you can take. But it’s very easy to fall into despair.”

Jhoyser Concalves, a Venezuelan from the northern coastal city of Catia La Mar, was talking to his partner and her daughter just minutes before the shaking. It was the last he heard from them.

When the earthquake stopped, Concalves ran out of his house to their apartment building, where they lived on the sixth floor. There was only debris and people desperately trying to rescue neighbors from the rubble.

Concalves posted a flyer reading “MISSING” on X and Facebook in a desperate attempt to find them.

“They are pulling people out of the building alive. So I still have hope that they are in there alive,” he said.

The search was complicated by the country's restrictions on social media and messaging platforms.

On Thursday, the U.N. human rights mission in Venezuela issued a statement calling on the government to lift local restrictions on social media and saying timely access to reliable information can save lives.

Sites including X and messaging app Signal were blocked in August 2024 by then-President Nicolás Maduro in an attempt to suppress communication among those who rejected his claim of victory in the presidential election. Former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez became the acting president in January after the U.S. captured and removed Maduro from power.

Shortly after the U.N.’s request Thursday, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X.

Outside the country, such sites have become even more important for many of the 8 million people who have migrated from Venezuela in recent years and were unable to check on their loved ones.

Elibel Tovar's 70-year-old father moved to Brazil more than 20 years ago but was in La Guaira for business. Félix Ramón Tovar Hernández was planning to travel Friday to Chile for his first reunion with his son in more than a decade. But Tovar, 38, said he hasn't heard from his father.

“I feel powerless because I don’t know how this is affecting him: the shock, the decisions he’s having to make, whether he is physically okay, or even whether he is still alive,” said Tovar, who registered his father on the website for the missing.

“Being in Chile makes it very difficult to get information, and everything we see feels confusing,” he said via WhatsApp.

In Madrid, Marcano said she was trying to stay calm for the sake of her 1-year-old daughter.

“You keep hoping someone will organize a fundraiser or some kind of initiative where you can help,” Marcano said. “But the truth is, from far away, there is very little you can do.”

Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Residents search through the rubble of a building that collapsed in an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

A man looks at covered bodies in front of a damaged building the day after earthquakes and several aftershocks struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

Neighbors carry a man rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building the day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

Damaged buildings stand in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, a day after an earthquake and several aftershocks struck the city, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jonathan Lanza)

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)