By SCM Foreign Desk
A SUNDAY afternoon football match turned into a scene of “cowardly” carnage yesterday as cartel gunmen opened fire on families, leaving 11 people dead.
The bloodbath took place in the community of Loma de Flores in Salamanca, central Mexico, where spectators and players were relaxing after a local match. Witnesses described the horror as two pickup trucks screeched to a halt and masked hitmen began firing “indiscriminately” into the crowd.
Local authorities confirmed that 11 people lost their lives in the hail of bullets, while another 12 were rushed to hospital with life-changing injuries. Among those caught in the crossfire were women and a young child.
Salamanca Mayor César Prieto slammed the “regrettable” attack, stating: “Criminal groups are trying to subjugate the authorities.
They will not achieve it.”
The massacre comes at a time of soaring tension between Mexico and the United States.
In Washington, President Donald Trump has ramped up his rhetoric to fever pitch, designating Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The White House has recently threatened “land strikes” and U.S. military action on Mexican soil to wipe out the narcos, putting immense pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to get a grip on the spiralling violence.
Guanajuato, the state where the shooting occurred, has become a killing field as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) battles the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel for control of drug routes and fuel theft.
Despite the heavy presence of the Mexican National Guard at the scene last night, the killers remain at large.
For the families of Salamanca, a simple game of football has ended in a national tragedy that could now spark a diplomatic firestorm across the border.
Guanajuato: Mexico’s Murder Capital
Guanajuato has consistently ranked as one of Mexico’s most violent states.
The violence is driven by a brutal turf war between the CJNG—one of the world’s most powerful criminal organizations—and local gangs like Santa Rosa de Lima.
They fight not only over drugs but over “huachicol” (stolen fuel) from the local Pemex refinery.
The 2026 political landscape is dominated by President Trump’s “New War on Drugs.”
Having reclassified cartels as national security threats, the U.S. has moved away from simple cooperation toward threats of unilateral military intervention. This massacre is likely to be used by Washington as further evidence that the Mexican government has lost control of its territory.
Salamanca is a key industrial hub, but its location makes it a strategic prize for cartels.
Amateur football matches are a cornerstone of local social life, making them soft targets for “message” killings intended to terrorize the local population and defy government authority.
