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Violence roiled several states across Mexico, including in Jalisco and its coastal city of Puerto Vallarta, as Mexican authorities confirmed that the leader of one of the country’s most powerful criminal organizations had died following a clash with special forces operatives.
Smoke from burning vehicles blackened the sky in Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist destination spot with a coastline along the Pacific Ocean. Similar scenes played out in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, and across several states on Sunday morning.
Several airlines cancelled flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, while other flights already in the air turned around before reaching the city.
The mass violence flared as federal authorities announced they had launched a special forces operation to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in a clash with federal authorities and died from his injuries while en route to Mexico City, the Secretariat of National Defence said in a statement.
The operation was initially launched in the municipality of Tapalpa, which sits roughly 300 kilometres southeast of Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
Violence has also been reported in the states of Michoacán, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement that Canada “was deeply alarmed by reports of violence” and that the federal government was “closely monitoring the serious and rapidly evolving security situation.”
Global Affairs Canada also updated its travel advisory for Puerto Vallarta and other parts of the state of Jalisco. It says there is a “shelter in place order” in Puerto Vallarta and that all taxi and ride-share services are suspended. All Canadians in Jalisco are advised to keep a low profile, monitor media and follow the orders of local authorities.
There are currently 18,703 Canadians registered as being in Mexico, including 4,672 in Jalisco state, according to Global Affairs Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service.
Canadian airlines cancel flights
Toronto resident Tim Spencer, 39, who is vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, said fires started flaring in the city early in the morning. He said he went up to the roof of the Villa Divina hotel and saw corner stores and cars in flames.
“Everything’s just covered in smoke here at the moment,” he said. “Grey and smoggy everywhere and the smell, it’s just like that electrical fuel, gross fire smell.”
Spencer said his flight to Denver, which would have then taken him to Toronto, was cancelled Sunday morning. “I’ve never really seen anything like this before in my life, so it’s a little bit horrific,” he said.
In a post on social media platform X on Sunday afternoon, Air Canada said, “Due to an ongoing security situation in Puerto Vallarta” impacting its airport, the airline “has temporarily suspended operations there today. We are monitoring the situation and in contact with local authorities who are working to resolve the issue.”
Flights to Puerto Vallarta from Vancouver on WestJet and Flair Airlines were also cancelled.
