{"id":6213,"date":"2026-04-22T09:35:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/world-cup-host-mexico-pledges-security-at-tourist-sites-after-shooting\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:35:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:35:24","slug":"world-cup-host-mexico-pledges-security-at-tourist-sites-after-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/world-cup-host-mexico-pledges-security-at-tourist-sites-after-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup host Mexico pledges security at tourist sites after shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>Mexican president admits the archaeological site outside Mexico City lacked security measures to prevent the attack.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Mexico\u2019s government says it is beefing up security at tourist sites after a man opened fire on tourists at pyramids outside Mexico City less than two months before the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n<p>A\u00a0lone <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/20\/gunman-kills-canadian-woman-injures-more-at-mexicos-teotihuacan-pyramids\">attacker carried out the shooting<\/a> on Monday on top of one of the Teotihuacan pyramids \u2014 a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Mexico\u2019s most frequented tourist attractions \u2014 and killed one Canadian tourist and injured 13 others.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 3 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/4\/20\/gunman-kills-canadian-woman-injures-more-at-mexicos-teotihuacan-pyramids\">Gunman kills Canadian woman, 13 injured at Mexico\u2019s Teotihuacan pyramids<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/21\/irans-world-cup-participation-depends-on-teams-safety-in-the-us-minister\">Iran\u2019s World Cup participation depends on team\u2019s safety in the US: Minister<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 3<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/4\/22\/fifa-unlocks-more-world-cup-tickets-and-adds-new-more-expensive-categories\">FIFA unlocks more World Cup tickets and adds new, more expensive categories<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>It also set off a flurry of questions the next morning by reporters to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum about what security protocols her government was taking in the run-up to the global football tournament, which Mexico will jointly host with the United States and Canada in June and July.<\/p>\n<p>About an hour from Mexico City, Teotihuacan was slated to be a key site for visitors during the festivities. Just days before the shooting, local lawmakers even pushed forward an initiative to revive a night-time interactive light show projected on the pyramids for World Cup visitors, which had been suspended following the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>The incident comes as Sheinbaum\u2019s government has gone to great lengths to project an image of safety in advance of the biggest football competition, following a surge of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/2\/24\/residents-raise-alarm-as-violence-hit-guadalajara-to-host-world-cup-games\">cartel violence<\/a> in February in the World Cup host city of Guadalajara.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/INTERACTIVE-Football-FIFA-Teams-that-have-qualified-for-the-World-Cup-2026-1776671102.png?quality=80\" alt=\"INTERACTIVE-Football FIFA Teams that have qualified for the World Cup 2026-1776671102\" data-interactive=\"true\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"an-isolated-incident\">\u2018An isolated incident\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>On Tuesday, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the archaeological site lacked security filters to prevent the attack, in part, she said, because the shooting \u201cwas an isolated incident\u201d that had not occurred before in such a public space.<\/p>\n<p>While Mexico suffers from cartel violence, especially in strategic and rural areas, mass shootings in public spaces are rare in the country compared with the US, where it is much easier to obtain a gun legally.<\/p>\n<p>She noted that the attacker appeared to be motivated by \u201coutside influences\u201d, particularly the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur obligation as a government is to take the appropriate measures to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again. But clearly, we all know \u2014 Mexicans know \u2014 that this is something that had not previously taken place,\u201d Sheinbaum said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch, the face of the government\u2019s crackdown on cartels, said on Tuesday that security forces had been ordered to \u201cimmediately strengthen security\u201d at archaeological sites and key tourist destinations across the country.<\/p>\n<p>He said the government would increase the presence of the Mexican National Guard, boost security checks at key sites and fortify surveillance systems to \u201cidentify and prevent any threats\u201d against citizens and visitors.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"security-concerns-before-world-cup\">Security concerns before World Cup<\/h2>\n<p>The announcement was an effort by Mexican authorities to assuage ongoing concerns about violence in Mexico before the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Sheinbaum\u2019s government has touted security successes under her leadership. Homicides have dipped sharply since she took office to the lowest levels in a decade, government figures show. The government has also taken out a number of top capos and highlighted a dip in fentanyl seizures at the US-Mexico border.<\/p>\n<p>But they have hit hurdles in recent months, namely a burst of violence in Guadalajara in February, triggered by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/2\/24\/the-killing-of-mexican-drug-lord-el-mencho-how-it-unfolded\">killing<\/a> of Mexico\u2019s most powerful cartel boss. The bloodshed was met with a wave of concern from people within and outside Mexico. Sheinbaum promised there would be \u201cno risk\u201d for fans attending the tournament, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/sports\/2026\/2\/25\/fifas-infantino-plays-down-world-cup-concerns-despite-violence-in-mexico\">\u201cfull confidence\u201d<\/a> in Mexico as a host country. Sheinbaum later met FIFA representatives to assess security for the World Cup matches to be played in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>The government doubled down on security measures, which include deploying 100,000 security personnel across the country, particularly concentrated in the three host cities \u2013 Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. Officials said more than 2,000 military vehicles would be deployed, as well as dozens of aircraft and drones, and security perimeters would be established around areas such as stadiums and airports in key cities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs you can see, we are very prepared for the World Cup,\u201d Sheinbaum said in early March.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rare nature of the Monday shooting at the pyramids, the extreme act of violence reignited scrutiny by some about the government\u2019s capacity to prevent violence during the tournament, and once again boosted pressures on the government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mexican president admits the archaeological site outside Mexico City lacked security measures to prevent the attack. Mexico\u2019s government says it is beefing up security at tourist sites after a man opened fire on tourists at pyramids outside Mexico City less than two months before the FIFA World Cup. A\u00a0lone attacker carried out the shooting on &#8230; <a title=\"World Cup host Mexico pledges security at tourist sites after shooting\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/world-cup-host-mexico-pledges-security-at-tourist-sites-after-shooting\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about World Cup host Mexico pledges security at tourist sites after shooting\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}