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Editor’s Note: The original version of this article erroneously stated that U.S. Customs and Border Protection worked security at the Miami World Cup match. The article has been corrected to reflect that the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office was responsible for security.
People say soccer brings people together: children, adults, Scots, Miamians, and Ecuadorian businessmen accused of financing assassinations.
What began Sunday as a seemingly innocent Instagram post of Ecuadorian actor Danilo Carrera entering Miami Stadium (Hard Rock Stadium) turned controversial when eagle-eyed netizens noticed who appeared to be entering behind him. Carrera’s post appears to show Ecuadorian fugitive Xavier Jordán, who Ecuadorian prosecutors accuse of plotting to assassinate former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, according to NBC 6.
An assassin fatally shot Villavicencio as he was leaving a campaign event In August 2023 ahead of the country’s election later that month. According to reporting by Insight Crime (a Latin American nonprofit focused on the study of organized crime), authorities in Miami have already arrested one prominent Ecuadorian, José Serrano, whom prosecutors have connected to the crime, while Jordán remains on the lam.
“Charged alongside Serrano were businessmen Xavier Jordán and Daniel Salcedo and former national assemblyman and Latin Kings member Ronny Aleaga,” according to the outlet. “Jordan was accused of directing and financing the murder operation, Salcedo of monitoring Villavicencio’s movements, and Aleaga of being the link between Jordan and the assassins who carried out the hit.”
Carrera and Jordán appear to be entering the stadium together to watch England beat Norway on Saturday, 2-1. Carrera’s management team didn’t respond to New Times’ request for comment.
In the caption alongside the post, Carrera wrote, “First World Cup game together of MANY! (Erling) Haaland didn’t win but Jude (Bellingham) passed. We watched all that is good football.”
The video shows Carrera walking through the turnstiles at Hard Rock Stadium with a bearded man wearing a white Ecuador jersey (who social media users identified as Jordán) following behind.
There was some confusion about which agency was providing security at the game. CBP agents in June 2025 announced they’d be helping with security at this summer’s World Cup, which stirred fear among immigrant groups who warned foreign travelers the message meant it wasn’t safe to travel in Florida for the games.
A CBP spokesman confirmed to New Times on Tuesday that the agency was at the stadium on Saturday helping with security, but they weren’t there to scan names and faces, so they wouldn’t have been involved with the arrest of any internationally wanted men. CBP agents were on the ground in Miami Saturday scanning delivery trucks for illegal substances like drugs, he said. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office (MDSO) worked security at the Miami Stadium entrance.
An MDSO public affairs spokesman told New Times that while the department was running security at the game, they weren’t scanning every face because that would infringe on people’s rights. The spokesman confirmed deputies didn’t arrest anyone matching Jordán’s name over the weekend. But they typically don’t carry a list of internationally wanted criminals, he said; they only search for specific people when asked by federal or international authorities.
Ecuadorian prosecutors charged Jordán in connection to organized crime in January 2024, when Interpol agents accepted a request to search for him, according to Ecuador Times. Interpol classified Jordan as “dangerous and prone to evasion.” The outlet tracked Jordán’s American Airlines flight from Ecuador to Miami in February 2020.
In 2025, prosecutors filed additional charges, accusing Jordán of funding the assassination and ordered his pre-trial detention, according to Reuters. It’s unclear whether authorities arrested Jordán upon arrival at the stadium.
