Canadians told to ‘keep a low profile’ as violence erupts in Mexico

The federal government ordered Canadians in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to shelter in place due to violence erupting in the region.

Here’s what happened on Monday:

‘A very strange day’ for travellers

The sun has gone down on a very strange day for travellers in Puerto Vallarta.

Many Canadian and American tourists started the day thinking that the gold medal game between their countries would be the most stressful part of their Sunday.

They were in for a surprise. Shortly after the game ended, some travellers started getting alerts from their resorts, telling them to stay on the property because of police activity in town.

From a resort area a few kilometres north of Puerto Vallarta, smoke could be seen billowing into the air from several directions in the distance.

Many people who were set to fly out, would soon discover that the airport had been shut down, effectively stranding them without accommodation and not knowing when they would get home.

People could be seen wheeling their luggage around resorts, unsure of whether they would be able to extend their stay or find somewhere else to stay for the night.

Roads and beaches were noticeably quieter as many people observed an advisory from officials to stay put if they didn’t need to go anywhere.

Joshua Freeman, Journalist, CP24.com

• IN PICTURES: Violence erupts in Mexico, leaving Canadians on high alert

‘Puerto Vallarta has never seen this kind of unrest’

East Toronto resident Pat Silver says Puerto Vallarta has “never seen this kind of unrest.”

Silver and her partner, Tim Philipps, spend several months of the year at their home in the Nuevo Vallarta resort community.

She told CP24 that they received news on Sunday morning that the New Generation Cartel was in town “burning stores, cars and buses, and shooting randomly.”

She said the cartel’s members have placed spikes on the street to prevent people from driving.

“People have been told not to open their doors for anyone, even those claiming to be police,” Silver said. “All businesses are shut down today and probably tomorrow. We’ve been told to make sure to charge our devices and conserve water as the cartels could target infrastructure.”

Joanna Lavoie, CP24.com journalist

‘Pretty scary,’ says Toronto resident in Puerto Vallarta

Lisa Morden from Toronto is currently at Condominio Sorrento in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She says there are other Canadians as well at her accommodation.

Morden says she saw cars, buses, restaurants and stores on fire and heard gunshots and explosions.

“I got up early, like most Canadians, to watch the hockey game and I noticed a big bellow of black smoke,” she told CTVNews.ca in an email.

“Then to the right of that fire, another one started, then another ... It then looked like they systematically went down the length of the popular Malecon waterfront area, where most tourists flock to, and set fires all the way down toward to hotel and airport area ...

We then heard a plethora of gun shots, like a sustained shootout, complete with explosions.”

Morden says she’s observing from her balcony of her accommodation, where she is currently sheltering.

“(It’s) pretty scary,” she wrote.

Robin Della Corte, CTVNews.ca journalist

WestJet diverts flights enroute to Puerto Vallarta

In a statement to CTV News, WestJet said it has diverted seven flights that were enroute to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and cancelled 37 flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara (GDL) and Manzanillo (ZLO).

A WestJet spokesperson said 11 flights in Calgary have been impacted as a result.

“WestJet’s flexible/change policy has been put into effect for guests travelling to PVR, GDL and ZLO over the next two days. For guests currently in destination, WestJet and Sunwing are arranging extended stays so guests can comply with local official guidelines," the statement said.

“As conditions evolve, additional cancellations may be required to ensure the safety of everyone in WestJet’s world. We are advising all guests with imminent travel plans to Mexico check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.”

• READ MORE: Violence in Mexico disrupts airlines as WestJet diverts 7 flights enroute to Puerto Vallarta

Stephen Hunt, Digital Producer, CTV News Calgary

Mexican president urges calm

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens on Sunday to remain calm and stay informed following the operation that led to the death of narcotrafficking kingpin Nemesio Oseguera, one of the most-wanted criminals in the country.

“There is absolute coordination with governments in every state; we should keep ourselves informed and stay calm,” Sheinbaum wrote on X.

Following the military operation, armed men blocked off multiple highways and burned businesses in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Puebla and Sinaloa.

AFP

‘Chaotic and fast-moving situation’

Ryan Voutilainen, who was scheduled to fly home to B.C. Sunday, is sheltering in place at his Airbnb amid violence in Puerto Vallarta.

Voutilainen told CTV News the first sign something was wrong came from a friend in a nearby hotel, who sent video of vehicles being set on fire around the “main drag” popular with tourists.

After taking shelter on the roof of his building, he said he saw “people on motorbikes pushing a car into an intersection and setting it ablaze and then actually looting the local corner store.”

While he felt relatively safe where he was, he said the uncertainty was unnerving.

“You don’t know what they’re going to do,” he said, adding, “it’s a very chaotic and fast-moving situation currently down here.”

For now, all he knows for sure is that he can’t leave.

• READ MORE: B.C. man describes ‘chaotic’ situation in Puerto Vallarta as violence erupts, flights cancelled

Lisa Steacy, CTVNewsVancouver.ca Journalist

‘People are trying to rebook’

“There’s black smoke you can see rising in the distance at several points around on the horizon, and the lobby is just absolutely jam packed where I am with tourists whose flights have been cancelled,” CP24.com journalist Joshua Freeman said from a resort located a few kilometres north of Puerto Vallarta.

“People are trying to rebook. I spoke to a couple of people in the lobby and they’re not quite sure what they’re going to do, because it’s a busy season right now, and hotels and resorts are full. So, a lot of uncertainty for travellers here.”

The area is a popular destination for Canadian tourists. At a resort north of the affected region, the beach remains open.

“You can see smoke rising off in the horizon and you don’t quite know what it’s about, but there’s not really much of a sense of, you know, not being safe here,” he said. The main road, he added, which is usually fairly busy is currently “dead quiet.”

• READ MORE: CP24 journalist vacationing in Puerta Vallarta says he’s safe, mostly unaffected by violence

Joanna Lavoie, CP24.com journalist

‘It’s quite, quite tense’

Artur Wilczynski, a Canadian security expert in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, says he had a flight back to Ottawa today that was cancelled.

“The information that we have from our airline is that the soonest they can get us out will be Wednesday,” Wilczynski told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

“We booked a few more days here at the hotel to make sure we have a place to stay, and we’re going to play it by ear to see if we’ll be able to get out sometime hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday, but right now we’re scheduled with our airline for Wednesday.”

Wilczynski said he saw smoke outside his hotel this morning, and shortly after across the city, along with a few explosions. With little information at the time, he went to the beach to find out what was happening and returned when he learned more.

“It’s quite, quite tense,” he said. “We’re not allowed to leave the hotel. Our flights have been cancelled. All of the ride shares are cancelled. We could see from the rooftop of our hotel the road to the airport, and there was a fire set across from the cruise terminal next to a large shopping mall.”

Robin Della Corte, CTVNews.ca journalist

Canada ‘deeply alarmed’

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is closely monitoring what she described as a “serious and rapidly evolving” security situation in Mexico’s Jalisco state, including in and around Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.

In a social media post on Sunday, Anand said the federal government is “deeply alarmed” by reports of violence and officials with Global Affairs Canada are in close contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadians in the region.

“The safety and security of Canadians abroad remains our highest priority and it is for this reason that we are issuing an updated travel advisory,” Anand said.

Tammy Ibrahimpoor, CTVNews.ca National Digital Producer

Canadians told to ‘keep a low profile’

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) confirmed to CTV News that it was aware of reports of criminal groups setting up roadblocks with burning vehicles in several cities in Jalisco state, including Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“A shelter-in-place order is in effect in Puerto Vallarta. All taxi and rideshare services are suspended until further notice,” a spokesperson for GAC said in an email to CTV News.

Canadians in Jalisco state are advised to keep a “low profile” and stay alert about the “rapidly evolving situation” via local and international media, GAC said. They are also advised to follow the advice of local authorities, including orders to shelter in place.

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 system.

However, officials noted that these numbers provide only an estimate of the voluntarily registered number of Canadians and are not exact, since some people may have registered with no travel plans.

“Canadian officials are providing consular assistance. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed,” a GAC spokesperson said.

Aarjavee Raaj, CTVNews.ca journalist

Mexican army confirms death

The powerful drug cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera died Sunday of wounds suffered in a raid by security forces, the Mexican army said.

The head of the Jalisco New Generation cartel was wounded during the raid in the town of Tapalpa in Jalisco state and died while being flown to Mexico City, the army said in a statement that confirmed news reports of his death.

AFP

Airlines suspend flights

Air Canada, Porter and WestJet have suspended flight operations into the Puerto Vallarta airport.

Aarjavee Raaj, CTVNews.ca journalist

Mexican army kills cartel leader: AP

The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, “El Mencho, ” in an operation Sunday, a federal official said, decapitating what had become Mexico’s most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration for its efforts.

The official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said it happened during a military operation in the western state of Jalisco, where the cartel that traffics huge amounts of fentanyl and cocaine into the United States is based.

The killing of the powerful drug lord followed several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other states. Such tactics are commonly used by the cartels to block military operations.

The Associated Press

What is the Jalisco cartel?

The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military -- including on helicopters -- and is a pioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines. In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.

The DEA considers the cartel to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel, one of Mexico’s most infamous criminal groups, with a presence in all 50 U.S. states. It is one of the main suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market and, like the Sinaloa cartel, earns billions from the production of fentanyl and methamphetamines. Sinaloa, however, has been weakened by infighting after the loss of its leaders Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, both in U.S. custody.

Oseguera Cervantes has been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison. Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity.

Since 2017, Oseguera Cervantes has been indicted several times in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The most recent superseding indictment, filed on April 5, 2022, charges Oseguera Cervantes with conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances (methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl) for the purpose of illegal importation into the United States and use of firearms during and in connection with drug trafficking offenses. Oseguera Cervantes is also charged under the Drug Kingpin Enforcement Act for directing a continuing criminal enterprise.

The U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens in Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Michoacan, Guerrero and Nuevo Leon states to remain in safe places due to the ongoing security operations.

The Associated Press