Should Ireland hurdle two playoff games on March 26 and 31, they will qualify for a first World Cup since 2002. El Mencho’s cartel, which was founded about 16 years ago and became Mexico’s most influential crime group, was also accused of attempting to assassinate Mexican government officials. Senior US officials celebrated El Mencho’s slaying, which follows months of pressure from Donald Trump over the influx of drugs and migrants across the 1,954-mile (3,145km) border between the two countries. The task force was quietly launched late last year with the goal of mapping out networks of drug cartel members on both sides of the US-Mexico border, US officials said. In a sign of El Mencho’s huge influence across Mexico, as well as other parts of Latin America, his killing sparked an immediate outbreak of disorder across the region he ruled.

Source: Irish Examiner February 23, 2026 08:54 UTC