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Loads of human remains were found buried in Mexico City near where the World Cup games will take place later this year.<\/p>\n
The discovery of the makeshift graves comes amid an upsurge in cartel violence, with over 20 grave sites being discovered around\u00a0Guadalajara since last year, per the\u00a0New York Post<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n So far, more than 500 bags of remains have been found in just four of the 22 grave sites \u2014 some just miles from Akron Stadium, one of Mexico\u2019s three World Cup locations.<\/p>\n Between February and September 2025, 270 bags filled with human remains were found at Las Agujas, a 54-acre property located in Zapopan \u2014 a city next to Guadalajara \u2014 and one of the largest mass graves found, according to El Pais.<\/p>\n Since that grim discovery by construction workers, more bodies have been found in the area, including 48 bags of remains unearthed in a clandestine grave in Zapopan in October,\u00a0CBS News reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n An estimated 130,000 people have disappeared in Mexico over the past decade, many of whom have been linked to cartel violence.\u00a0Jaime Aguilar of the Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco, an organization that searches for missing persons, told El Pa\u00eds in December that the missing in Jalisco \u201care made to vanish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is so it won\u2019t be known; they want to erase all traces of the disappeared,\u201d added Aguilar.<\/p>\n Aguilar said the upcoming World Cup has drawn attention to the makeshift grave sites.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the findings are gaining attention, because they\u2019re being linked to the World Cup. It\u2019s several miles away, but this is happening near a World Cup stadium,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n Due to the uptick in cartel violence, some residents have expressed skepticism about hosting the World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think they should host the World Cup here,\u201d said local restaurant owner Hugo Per\u00e9z. \u201cWe have so many problems, and they want to invest in the World Cup? With all the violence, it\u2019s not a good idea.\u201d<\/p>\n Mexico has promised that the World Cup, which will host the\u00a0football federation for Portugal at the end of March, will be a secure and safe event.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n