Dozens of Manitobans remain stuck in Mexico, many holed up in an airport with no services, and several states cancelled school Monday in the wake of widespread violence.
“There’s nothing open in the airport — no coffee, no food, no water. We have booked a couple of hotel rooms but (have) no way of getting there. There’s no taxis, no buses,” said Katharina Stieffenhofer, a Winnipeg documentary filmmaker who was supposed to fly from Puerto Vallarta to Winnipeg on Sunday morning.
“We spent all day yesterday at the airport, and then we spent the night. We were fortunate to scrounge some cardboard, which made the night a little bit more comfortable.”
The violence erupted Sunday after the Mexican army killed drug lord Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho.
He was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against government officials who challenged it.
Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was killed in a shootout as the military tried to capture him. Cartel members responded with violence across Mexico, blocking roads and setting fire to vehicles.
Twenty-five members of the National Guard were left dead in Jalisco in six separate attacks, Mexico Security Secretary Omar GarcÃa Harfuch said Monday.
PHOTOS | Violence erupts across Mexico:
Stieffenhofer said she passed burnt-out cars and lots of smoke as she made her way to the airport early Sunday.
“Nobody knew what was going on, and all of a sudden, there was this big panic. And, apparently, shots were fired outside of the airport. And everybody just hit the floor and hid behind pillars and walls and behind the conveyor belt and the counters, and people were crying.
“And then this lady came and she told us all to follow her, and she took us into this narrow hallway and told us to sit down. So we did that … a whole bunch of the travellers with their suitcases sitting in this narrow hallway. My heart was pounding. It was very scary.”
Travellers inside the Puerto Vallarta airport were led into a narrow hallway, where they took shelter after flights were cancelled because of the violence on the streets. (Submitted by Wendy Buelow)
There’s a large military presence inside and outside the airport, with soldiers carrying submachine guns, Stieffenhofer said.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged calm and authorities announced Monday they had cleared the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states. She said at a news conference in Mexico City on Monday that she expects flights to and from Puerto Vallarta to resume Monday or Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported.
No airlines have confirmed when flights will start up again.Â
“WestJet has abandoned us. Like, just completely abandoned us,” Stieffenhofer said.
“There were a couple of guys behind the counter yesterday, and for a while, they said that they’d try and get us hotels. And then eventually, they said you’re on your own. ‘If you can find a hotel, you’re going to have to also find a way there, and we might reimburse you.’ And then, they all left.”
CBC News has reached out to WestJet for comment but has not yet heard back.
“I don’t really want to spend another night in the airport,” Stieffenhofer said.
Flights between Winnipeg and Puerto Vallarta were cancelled. Some flights to Mexico that left Winnipeg on Sunday were forced to return.
Stieffenhofer, who booked her trip through CAA, said a manager in Winnipeg has been doing more for her than WestJet.
“She emailed me twice to check on me and said that she would try and talk with WestJet today,” she said.
Wendy Buelow and her husband, who were also scheduled to fly to Winnipeg from Puerto Vallarta on Sunday, said there are no airline staff members to be seen, other than “two people at an info desk that don’t have much info.”
Buelow said there are about 200 people waiting like her. They are from Manitoba, Edmonton and Toronto, with a few from the U.S.
Some people got out of the airport Sunday night if they managed to get a hotel nearby, and were given rides by police, she said.
Although Sheinbaum said Mexico is calm and “at peace” and activities in many areas are beginning to proceed, Stieffenhofer said, “There’s still smoke in the air, and there’s this acrid, like toxic, smell.”
A shelter-in-place order remains in effect in Jalisco state, which includes Puerto Vallarta. Global Affairs Canada is urging Canadians there to keep a low profile, monitor media reports and follow orders from local authorities.
Speaking at a news conference in Ottawa on Monday, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said all Canadians in Mexico should register with Global Affairs. As of this morning, 26,305 people had done so, an increase of 8,000 from Sunday.
“We know that the actual number of Canadians in Mexico is much higher,” Anand said, noting that the registration is voluntary.
The phone number is 613-996-8885.