World Cup host Mexico pledges security at tourist sites after shooting

Mexico’s 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 lone attacker carried out the shooting on Monday on top of one of the Teotihuacan pyramids — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Mexico’s most frequented tourist attractions — and killed one Canadian tourist and injured 13 others.

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.

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.

The incident comes as Sheinbaum’s government has gone to great lengths to project an image of safety in advance of the biggest football competition, following a surge of cartel violence in February in the World Cup host city of Guadalajara.

‘An isolated incident’

On Tuesday, Sheinbaum acknowledged that the archaeological site lacked security filters to prevent the attack, in part, she said, because the shooting “was an isolated incident” that had not occurred before in such a public space.

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.

She noted that the attacker appeared to be motivated by “outside influences”, particularly the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado.

“Our 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 — Mexicans know — that this is something that had not previously taken place,” Sheinbaum said on Tuesday.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch, the face of the government’s crackdown on cartels, said on Tuesday that security forces had been ordered to “immediately strengthen security” at archaeological sites and key tourist destinations across the country.

He said the government would increase the presence of the Mexican National Guard, boost security checks at key sites and fortify surveillance systems to “identify and prevent any threats” against citizens and visitors.

Security concerns before World Cup

The announcement was an effort by Mexican authorities to assuage ongoing concerns about violence in Mexico before the tournament.

Sheinbaum’s 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.

But they have hit hurdles in recent months, namely a burst of violence in Guadalajara in February, triggered by the killing of Mexico’s most powerful cartel boss. The bloodshed was met with a wave of concern from people within and outside Mexico. Sheinbaum promised there would be “no risk” for fans attending the tournament, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he had “full confidence” in Mexico as a host country. Sheinbaum later met FIFA representatives to assess security for the World Cup matches to be played in Mexico.

The government doubled down on security measures, which include deploying 100,000 security personnel across the country, particularly concentrated in the three host cities – 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.

“As you can see, we are very prepared for the World Cup,” Sheinbaum said in early March.

Despite the rare nature of the Monday shooting at the pyramids, the extreme act of violence reignited scrutiny by some about the government’s capacity to prevent violence during the tournament, and once again boosted pressures on the government.