Unrest Erupts Following Cartel Leader's Death
Locals and tourists in Mexico have described the "heartbreaking" unrest that followed after one of the country's most powerful and feared cartels unleashed violence across several states. This wave of violence occurred after Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," Mexico's most wanted man and leader of the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) drug cartel, was killed during a security operation to arrest him on Sunday.
Video footage recorded by locals and tourists showed burnt vehicles and plumes of smoke rising above multiple towns and cities, including the popular beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
Local Resident Describes Sudden Violence
Nashville-born Jerry Jones, who has lived in Puerto Vallarta for over four years, told he had "never experienced anything like this" and usually felt "safer here than in my hometown." Jones, owner of the LGBT+ lifestyle magazine Out and About Puerto Vallarta, relocated to Mexico after retiring from his job in the United States.
"I love the people here, I love the walkability of the city, how nice everyone is. It's a beautiful and fantastic place, and that's what encouraged me to come here,"
Jones explained that residents were "completely caught off guard" on Sunday morning as news of El Mencho's capture and the subsequent unrest broke.
"The first inkling that we had that something was going on was one of our readers sent us a video of a bus being set on fire,"
He began seeing smoke "all the way across the city" just minutes later. Jones reported that vehicles were being parked across roads and set on fire, including at a local store where "more than 30 vehicles that were in the parking lot at the time were burned and destroyed."
Despite the rapid unfolding of events on Sunday morning, Jones said residents received no information from local authorities and he did not observe military or police presence in his neighborhood until the afternoon.
Community Response and Impact on Daily Life
Residents and tourists across several Mexican states were advised to remain indoors, with most businesses, schools, and universities closed. Jones described some individuals as being "stuck" in retail stores after the violence erupted, unable to leave.
"When the city realised what was happening, they issued a stay at home order,"
He added that the streets suddenly became "eerily quiet." As information gradually reached the local community, people began to unite to assist one another.
Community members helped extinguish fires as firefighters were "overwhelmed," according to Jones, and also aided tourists who lacked access to food. A local grocery store opened on Sunday evening, but the queue to enter was "unbelievable."
"I don't know what today's going to bring. I hope, peace,"
Jones expressed concern about the community and the potential impact on tourism in the region.
"Puerto Vallarta is strong and we have been through hurricanes together, the pandemic together, and businesses here join together,"
"In times like this, they do not compete. They join together and they help each other. And so, I think that's going to happen and we will survive and be even stronger."
Tourists and Content Creators Share Their Experiences
Marc-André, a Canadian content creator residing in Puerto Vallarta, described the usually calm resort town as "looking like it was an absolute war zone."
"There were fires everywhere, like hundreds of cars throughout the city were burning at the same time,"
He shared these observations in a video on his YouTube channel, More Life Diaries, and described the streets afterward as "very quiet and unsettling."
"This is Mexico after all - usually there'd be music, people outside, people enjoying life, and there's a really, kind of eerie, feeling in the air here,"
Marc-André, who lives with his wife and two young children, stated that his family had never felt unsafe in the town before this incident.
"It is quite heartbreaking to see what's going on,"
Another YouTube creator, California-born Paul Desmond, shared his experience in a video he said "he never wanted to make." Desmond, who has lived in Bucerías, a beach resort town in the state of Nayarit, for several years, described the scene as "very unusual."
He shared drone footage from Sunday morning showing a deserted motorway with smoke visible in the distance.
"This is not something that happens regularly in our daily lives here,"
"It's unsettling, it's frustrating, it's ugly."
A number of American and Canadian tourists also provided first-hand accounts of the unrest and how it unfolded to news outlets.
Dallas resident Adryan Moorefield, who had been in Puerto Vallarta since the previous week, told CNN the situation was a "complete shocker."
"It almost felt like being in the twilight zone,"
Moorefield said he had visited the town before and considered it a "no brainer place to come and do a quick, easy beach vacation" but is now stranded after his flight home was cancelled.
Another tourist in Puerto Vallarta, Tim Spencer from Toronto, told CBC that he witnessed corner stores and cars in flames from the rooftop of the Villa Divina hotel.
"I've never really seen anything like this before in my life, so it's a little bit horrific,"
Jim Beck told CNN he left his hotel on Sunday morning to get breakfast and saw "taxi cabs blown up all over town, blocking the roads."
"Then immediately, everyone was running down the street, screaming and yelling, and they told everyone to get back to their hotels,"
Beck, who has been visiting the town for several years, said this was the first time he did not feel safe there.
Ongoing Disruptions and Government Response
Flight cancellations continued on Monday, leaving many stranded in Puerto Vallarta. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum stated she expected flights to resume later in the day and on Tuesday.
