A little girl pointed to posters with pictures of missing people in Guadalajara, Mexico on February 25, 2026. Image: AP
Raul Servin, an employee who serves in Guadalajara, follows the preparations for the upcoming World Cup with numerous cares. He spent a few days each week looking for his son who had been missing since 2018, then 20 years old. He is one of about 134,000 missing people in Mexico in the context of organized crime gangs that are increasingly expanding influence. Many families claim that the authorities have not given enough resources to search for their loved ones.
In the meantime, preparing for the 2026 World Cup, Guadalupe again deploys a series of projects such as the Square Renovation, road upgrade, surveillance shopping and expensive Cybertruck patrol cars, even canceling school schedules on the day of the game to reduce the traffic jam.
"That's the issue of priority," said Servin to Financial Times. "They do everything for the good of the tourists, while we have to find loved ones in the hot sun".
The family group involved by Servin stated that the sites they suspected to be "divine destruction" and the mass burial pits contained the bones less than 20 km from the World Cup Stadium in Guadalajara. The city is in Jalisco - the highest number of missing persons in the 32 states of Mexico.
"The Governor is only interested in economic benefits from the World Cup, and we are living in another reality," he said. "Police will never really care about the missing person, because they don't feel this pain".
The Jalisco state authorities have not responded to the comments. Meanwhile, the Mexican government asserts that the search for missing persons is "National Fairy".
The people passed the countdown clock to the 2026 World Cup at Guadalajara, Mexico on 24 March/2026. Image: Reuters
The tension between the victims' families and the authorities is increasing in front of the World Cup - the tournament co-contained by Mexico and Canada, with the games held in Mexico City and Monterrey.
Millions of visitors expected to stream on this Latin American nation, marking the outbreak of tourism. The eager air was spreading as the opening match was scheduled for June 11. President Claudia Sheinbaum called this "time to see who we are".
Members of the missing Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco search for bodies in an abandoned house at Tlajomulco de Zuniga, in Guadalupe, Mexico March 22, 2026. Image: Reuters
The annual number of missing cases in Mexico has increased more than three times since 2015, as gangs have increasingly kidnapped young people to recruit, purge rivals, and non-body. Official statistics indicate that nearly 12,400 people were reported missing during last year.
Drug gangs were charged with kidnapping, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and organization. With about 170,000 people reported missing, Mexico is widely referred to as "the world's kidnapping capital".
International experts express concern over this reality. Eduardo Guerrero, director of the Lantia Intelligence Security Analysis Company, said he had never seen a country with similar phenomena in 20 years of research. "Presidentally organized offenders often operate in private, but in Mexico comes to such a shocking scale," he said.
In Mexico City's capital, activists pasted the missing person posters on World Cup-related billboards, and at the same time hosted street football and march games in administrative cities to attract attention.
A police officer passes through posters looking for missing persons before the Office of Special Prosecutors on the Missing Person in Guadalajara, Mexico on February 25, 2026. Image: AP
According to Armando Vargas, specialist at the Mexican Research Organization Eva Fairfax, which exists in the big conflict between the two narratives - on one side is civil society wanting to reflect the state of security, on the other side the government wants to build positive images of the country.
Recently, the Mexican government was controversial when it announced the results of a sweep of the national missing persons list. In March, officials said about a third of the total record - which is equal to 40,000 cases—may be people still alive, due to the data showing they used to pay taxes or change addresses after the time of the disappearance. About 47,000 other records lack basic information, making the investigation difficult.
Security experts acknowledge that the database has errors and coincidences, but also warns many families that may not provide sufficient information due to fear of retaliation from the gangs.
Shortly thereafter, the Mexican government strongly protested the United Nations Commission's report of forced disappearance, the agency claiming that the situation in Mexico could constitute a crime against humanity.
The Mexican State Department called this report a lack of objectivity, claiming that content was based primarily on events prior to 2017 and did not reflect recent reforms. Search groups of victims express disappointment, claiming that the government is trying to reduce the problem with showy claims.
At Jalisco, the activists said there were very few arrests involving more than 16,000 missing cases, in the context of the Jalisco New Census Cartel growing stronger.
Experts have determined whether the number of murders has dropped, the missing condition remains high and may be pushed to another or concealed. "No one really does anything for the missing person", a local lawyer said.
The La Minerva rotation in Guadalajara City looked from the high ground on 24 March, 2026. Image: Reuters
Mexico will hold a total of 13 World Cup matches, in which five games in Mexico City. This will be the third time Mexico will be registered to the World Cup, and Azteca Field will become the first in the history of holding the opening match three times.
A security expert identified gangs who might not want the event to be interrupted, as it affected their underground economy.
However, security concerns remained over when the tournament approached. For families whose loved ones are missing, the World Cup is not a festival, but a reminder of another "match" - the quest for justice has not yet come to an end.
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