Tourists walk past the burnt wreckage of buses in the state of Jalisco, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on Monday.Alfonso Lepe/Reuters
Canadians stuck in the Mexican state of Jalisco were recovering Monday from the shock of watching their holiday paradise attacked by a major drug cartel, as some airlines announced they were resuming service to parts of the country.
Thousands of Canadians remain stranded in Mexico because of widespread violence that rocked a number of states and disrupted air travel after the killing of a cartel boss. Though the unrest appeared to subside Monday, the Mexican government deployed another 2,000 troops to the area amid lingering concerns.
WestJet said Monday evening that it would resume scheduled flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Manzanillo on Tuesday. Air Canada and Air Transat also said they would resume normal service to Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, with Air Canada service from Toronto to Guadalajara set to resume Wednesday.
Mexico the latest flashpoint in travel upheaval linked to U.S. policy
At least 26,305 travellers in Mexico have registered with Global Affairs Canada to receive advice and updates. But Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters Monday that is only a fraction of Canadians affected by what she described as a fluid and volatile situation.
Travelers check the status of their flights at Pearson Airport in Toronto on Monday.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
The Mexican government said up to 73 people have died since Sunday after its military killed prominent drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, commonly called “El Mencho,” as part of a crackdown on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and other groups. It’s not clear how many of the dead were neither military nor cartel members.
Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said 25 members of the National Guard, a prison guard and an agent from the state prosecutor’s office were killed in six separate attacks in Jalisco after his country’s army killed Mr. Cervantes, who was behind one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in the country. Around 30 other suspects from Jalisco have also been killed, Mr. Harfuch added, with four more dead in the neighbouring state of Michoacán.
Newspapers featuring the death of El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, are displayed in Mexico City.CRISTOPHER ROGEL BLANQUET/The New York Times
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Buses, homes, corner stores and gas stations across the west-central state – which includes the popular tourist spots of Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara – have been repeatedly lit up in flames, while armed civilians roamed city streets, blockading major roads.
Nova Scotia resident Garrin Boudreau, on holiday in Puerto Vallarta, said he was able to check in for his flight to Halifax scheduled to depart Tuesday afternoon.
On Monday, he said he saw the Mexican beach city slowly returning to normal, but he remembers the disarray from Sunday morning.
His serene view of the hills from his Airbnb was obscured by smoke rising from a bus set on fire, Mr. Boudreau said. Soon, he said he could count 10 fires burning and had to step away because the smoke began to affect his lungs.
As he locked down with other tourists in his building complex, Mr. Boudreau, a chef, made tacos for everyone.
“We felt safe up here,” he said.
Hundreds of stranded Canadians responded to a Globe and Mail callout. Many shared similar experiences of coming together as a community with the locals in Jalisco, but they complained about getting through the Global Affairs registration system.
North of Puerto Vallarta, at the small beach town of Bucerías, Richard Klassen said he and his wife, Eileen Klassen, have “nothing but the best things to say about the kindness of the restaurant staff at La Cruz,” who sheltered them as the violence ensued.
The Klassens, a Winnipeg couple in their 50s, are on a pre-retirement trip to a region they have stayed in twice before. They were at a market early Sunday, roughly 12 kilometres from their condo, when they suddenly saw vendors dismantling carts in quick succession, shortly after which the pair heard a loud explosion.
“Mushroom cloud is maybe overstating it, but the smoke filled the air, and the blast shook the ground we were standing on,” Mr. Klassen said in an interview.
They tried to hail a cab and order an Uber ride, but none were operating. As they fled on foot, a small restaurant in the area stayed open for hours, just to keep them safe.
“We’re hoping we can still do our return as planned for the end of the month. We’re not in a rush to get back to Canada immediately,” Mr. Klassen said.
Burned cars are in the parking lot of a Costco retail store in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco state, Mexico on Monday.ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP/Getty Images
Kirsten Rowe, a circus artist from Mississauga, Ont., said it’s been disheartening seeing the “peaceful, calm and beautiful” area she is used to turning into “scenes of chaos.”
She recalled teaching an aerial dance class in Guadalajara when her students started to receive a high-pitched barrage of alerts on their phones Sunday. The group of about seven people huddled together anxiously for hours in the studio, before eventually venturing outside, only for her to camp out once again at a friend’s place nearby.
“We’re just trying to remain calm and stay put here,” she said.
“I’m here with my partner, who is from the area, and it’s been really hard to explain to my family, who are freaking out, that I’ll be okay – that I’m fine. We’re in good hands.”
In Puerto Vallarta, Ken Rech and his wife, Erin Rea, both retired and in their early 70s, have some sage advice: “Based on our nearly 18 years of coming here from Winnipeg, we know it’s best to let the system sort itself out.”
Mr. Rech said he saw a similar situation during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I understand it can be scary, but there’s just no need to have a mad dash with getting back,” he said.
But not everyone is sanguine.
Brandon Perry, who was solo travelling from Saskatoon to San Pancho, a small town about an hour’s drive north of Puerto Vallarta, said he “wants to come back home as soon as possible.”
After his flight on Monday was cancelled, he found restaurants closed and deserted streets, with his Airbnb unable to accommodate a longer stay.
“Schools even are closed, too. And I’m just staying at a guy’s place who I met at the airport,” said the 43-year-old. “It feels like a movie scene from a zombie apocalypse, but I really hope it feels lively again soon.”
Lauren Montpetit and her family, who are on vacation from Toronto, said it’s been difficult to stay put without reliable and up-to-date information.
Some tourists say the streets of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, are quiet a day after fire and violence engulfed the popular tourist destination following the death of the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. One visitor, a dialysis patient, said transit shutdowns left her scrambling to get treatment.
The Canadian Press
At La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, the fishing village northwest of Puerto Vallarta where she is staying with her husband, 10-year-old daughter and sister-in-law, misinformation and fake imagery online have been adding to her stress.
“It’s causing a lot of confusion and anxiety for everybody,” she said, hearing explosions in the distance Monday.
As many people in Mexico feared another wave of violence, President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents to keep their cool.
Local authorities have already cleared more than 250 roadblocks in 20 states, she said, and others are also expected to be lifted soon.
With reports from Jeff Gray in Toronto and The Associated Press