Third World Problems

Mexico is working feverishly to finish a stadium complex for the upcoming 2026 World Cup but has run into a problem: the stadium complex is apparently being built on land where the cartels have been busy disposing of bodies.  From the Latin Times: "Jalisco Search Groups Continue Recovering Human Remains Near 2026 World Cup Venue." The article relates:

With less than 200 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America, one of Mexico's host cities is facing a serious problem in the areas surrounding its stadium.

What could this problem be? Well, it is Mexico:

    ... Since 2022, at least 456 bags with human remains have been recovered in the vicinity of Akron Stadium, which is set to host four World Cup group stage matches as well as the inter-confederation playoffs prior to the start of the tournament.  

[snip]

    One of the locations with the largest number of findings is an area known as Las Agujas. Construction workers found 290 bags while building a housing development in that zone. 

Of course both the government and cartels would like the public to not notice:

     Infobae México reported that search collectives such as Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, which uncovered cases like the one in Teuchitlán where organized crime groups used a ranch to train and kill people, have accused the Jalisco government of a lack of transparency and support. Members say authorities do not fully report all clandestine graves found by search groups or by municipal or state authorities.

    "They do not want to bring all the graves to light. We have to dig and recover the bags so that prosecutors and forensic teams can remove them, but this does not work in their favor," Servin García said, adding that forensic staff also face pressure from organized crime.

    "We know that criminal groups have threatened forensic teams because they decide which bodies are delivered and which are not," he said.

    The discovery of clandestine graves remains a critical issue in Mexico, particularly in Jalisco. According to the 2025 national report on missing persons by the Mexican Institute of Human Rights and Democracy, Jalisco is among the five states with the highest number of disappearances, along with the State of Mexico, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Nuevo León.