Mexican forces down drone near South Korea camp

drone neutralized – Mexican military forces intercepted and brought down an unregistered drone near the South Korean national soccer team’s training camp in Guadalajara, according to a federal official. South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo called the incident “unfortunate,” and Mexica

In Guadalajara, the drone was in the sky during training—and South Korea learned about it only after the fact.

Mexican military forces intercepted and brought down a drone that flew near the South Korean national soccer team’s training camp ahead of the teams’ World Cup match against Mexico, a federal official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Military forces used specialized equipment to detect an “unregistered drone” near the camp, prompting them to “neutralize” it, the Mexican federal agent said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident publicly.

Co-host Mexico played first in Group A, winning its opening match at the World Cup on Thursday. South Korea beat the Czech Republic later that same day. It wasn’t clear if the drone was trying to spy on the South Korean team ahead of Thursday’s match.

South Korea coach Hong Myung-bo called the incident “unfortunate.”

“Yesterday (Tuesday). during our training. there was a drone in the sky that we came to know about the fact. ” Hong said through a translator. “But fortunately, it was right before we practiced our tactics, so it did not impact us. But while we were preparing for the match, that was the most important timing, so what happened was unfortunate.”.

The Mexican operation was part of a security plan involving military and local police forces for the soccer tournament, which kicked off last week in Mexico City and is being co-hosted by the United States and Canada through July 19.

The official did not say when the incident occurred or whether any arrests were made. He said only that several drones had been neutralized in recent days after attempting to enter security zones around stadiums in Mexico City. Guadalajara and Monterrey—the tournament’s three host cities—as well as team base camps and fan festivals.

In March. Mexican authorities announced a World Cup security operation known as “Plan Kukulkán. ” involving about 100. 000 personnel from federal and local military and police forces. The plan includes early warning systems. security measures at stadiums. airports. roads and hotels. and protection protocols for teams. officials and fans.

Across the border, Canadian authorities have banned unauthorized drones from flying over World Cup stadiums and several training sites in Vancouver and Toronto as a security measure. The restrictions remain in effect until July 7, the date of the last game scheduled to be staged in Canada.

The issue has also landed Canada in a separate controversy. In 2024. the Canadian women’s national team was accused of using a drone to spy on a New Zealand training session in the days leading up to their opening match at the Paris Olympics. triggering a spying scandal that led to sanctions against Canada.

That scandal resulted in the suspension of two coaching staff members and head coach Bev Priestman. who was subsequently dismissed by Canada Soccer. The Canadian women’s team—reigning Olympic champions from the Tokyo Games—was deducted six points from its group standings in France. Canada Soccer later determined that the incident was not an isolated error but part of a pattern of insufficient oversight within the national teams.

What’s clear from the latest episode in Mexico is the tightrope teams are walking between ordinary training routines and tournament security. Mexico says it is detecting and neutralizing unauthorized drones near key sites—and South Korea is calling it unfortunate that a device was in the air during the moments right before the match preparation that coach Hong described as “the most important timing.”.

World Cup Mexico South Korea drone Guadalajara Plan Kukulkán Hong Myung-bo security operation