Martha Chomyn, a Canadian currently in Puerto Vallarta, talks about what was going through her mind as a shelter in place urges all people to stay indoors. <\/p>\n
Several residents of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are currently in Mexico\u2019s popular Puerto Vallarta area where cartel-related violence has erupted. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Q6ZYV7L2Z5GATKJCQLLP6UZ3DU.jpg\")
Toronto residntToronto residents Pat Silver, Tim Philipps in Puerto Vallarta Feb. 22 East Toronto residents Pat Silver and her partner Tim Philipps are currently in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, which is experiencing amid cartel-related unrest. (Supplied) <\/p>\n
East Toronto resident Pat Silver spends several months of the year at her home in the town\u2019s Nuevo Vallarta resort community. <\/p>\n
On Sunday evening, Silver told CP24.com that she and her partner Tim Philipps received news that earlier today the New Generation Cartel was in town \u201cburning stores, cars and buses, and shooting randomly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all in retribution for the Mexican military killing the head of that cartel, who is dubbed El Mencho. Burning cars are being placed strategically by main intersections where people would go to shop, but that is a moot point since the Mayor has ordered all shops and services to be closed, including transportation,\u201d said Silver, who lives very close to Puerto Vallarta\u2019s airport.<\/p>\n
She said the cartel\u2019s members have placed spikes on the street to prevent people from driving, adding that a friend is at a local hospital following hip surgery on Friday, which is currently on lockdown and can\u2019t be accessed by emergency vehicles due to spikes on that street.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother friend went for a short walk into town this morning only to be confronted by fires in the local sports stadium and people with AK47s,\u201d Silver said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/K2CTL3FXIBENNL4ZPJHLTKBUAQ.png\")
Puerto Vallarta This still from a video submitted by Ryan Voutilainen shows a car on fire in the streets of Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 22, 2026. <\/p>\n
She said the local airport also closed early today, with planes diverting to Cabo San Lucas and Guadalajara, or turning around to return to their point of origin. It is also expected to be closed tomorrow, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are being warned that there is a deadline around now for the military to release the son of El Mencho or cartel members will start going house to house. People have been told not to open their doors for anyone, even those claiming to be police,\u201d Silver said, adding as far as she knows, no one has been injured locally, only cartel members who were involved at the capture site. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll businesses are shut down today and probably tomorrow. We\u2019ve been told to make sure to charge our devices and conserve water as the cartels could target infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/OREZNISOSRA7NDDFZHLB6MULSM.JPG\")
Officers are seen inside the Puerto Vallarta airport after the military closed and secured the facility on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Handout – Wendy Buelow (Mandatory Credit) Officers are seen inside the Puerto Vallarta airport after the military closed and secured the facility on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Violence has escalated in Jalisco State, Mexico, after the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.” THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Handout – Wendy Buelow (Mandatory Credit) <\/p>\n
Despite the unrest, Silver said they are safe in their condo complex and are keeping calm. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are just hunkering down until we are told it is safe to go beyond our property,\u201d said Silver, who was supposed to perform on Sunday night with a 44-piece orchestra for a gala concert featuring a Broadway singer. That event has been postponed for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur staff can\u2019t leave, so the residents are making sure they have a place to sleep tonight and meals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u2018A very scary time\u2019<\/p>\n
Toronto resident Sandra Crowe has spent three months of the year in Puerto Vallarta for the past several years. She has a condo in a gated community and tells CP24 that she is currently safe.<\/p>\n
However, that wasn\u2019t so much the case this morning when she was out on a bike ride, unaware of the turmoil that was unfolding, and struggled to get home.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It was) a very scary time,\u201d Crowe shared. <\/p>\n
Toronto resident in Puerto Vallarta discusses seeing violence while biking in Mexico Sandra Crowe, a Toronto resident in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, discusses the violence she saw this morning while out on a bike ride. <\/p>\n
She said she was in a common area when she saw plumes of smoke and at one point heard the word cartel.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still didn\u2019t think much of it until there was a loud sound and people started running,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She said she pedaled quick to try to return home but kept being stopped by cars on fire or seeing young guys on motorcycles. Crowe says it took her about an hour to make it back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe scariest (roads) to me were the ones that were completely deserted and the stores and the homes were shuttered up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose ones scared me more than any road.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/32XCDUWYBNBY3CXUMY3BLEC4DI.png\")
Toronto resident Sandra Crowe in PV Feb. 22 Toronto resident Sandra Crowe is seen on Feb. 22 at her home in Puerto Vallarta, which is experiencing cartel-related unrest. <\/p>\n
Crowe, who said she also saw some military helicopters, is now sheltering in place with her family and has registered with the Canadian Consulate to get any updates on the situation an to keep them informed about where they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is very usual. Puerto Vallarta is generally one of the very safe areas,\u201d said Crowe, who is scheduled return to Canada on March 2 but said she\u2019ll consider coming back earlier if the situation doesn\u2019t improve.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ROTUDOEQY5ABPNBR5P634B44MY.jpeg\")
Toronto resident Martha Chomyn, Sijia Liu, Feb. 22 Puerto Vallarta Martha Chomyn, of Toronto, chats with CP24’s Sijia Liu on Feb. 22 from her vacation rental in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. <\/p>\n
Martha Chomyn, also of Toronto, is currently stranded in Puerto Vallarta amid the violence. She and her husband are expected to board a flight back to Canada on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a pretty crazy day,\u201d she told CP24.<\/p>\n
\u2018Pretty unsettling\u2019<\/p>\n
Chomyn, who is staying in a gated vacation complex in the town\u2019s Amapas neighbourhood, said she and her husband woke up this morning to the sound of screeching tires. She said he stepped outside to investigate and saw a bus completely blocking the road along with a couple men carrying guns.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the was the first indication that something was wrong. And then all of a sudden the bus was on fire,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The incident, she said, happened right outside their balcony.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw this huge plume of smoke and flames coming up so it was pretty unsettling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chomyn said what made things scary was not knowing what was going on and if they\u2019d need to flee their condo at a moment\u2019s notice, if things escalated.<\/p>\n
She and her husband then sequestered themselves in the washroom before about an hour before venturing out to chat with some of their neighbours. They also took to social media to get a better understanding of the situation, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really scary getting the breaking news that the cartels were here,\u201d she said, adding they also saw army helicopters and vehicles patrolling the streets.<\/p>\n
Chomyn said she hopes the unrest doesn\u2019t flare up again before they leave in a few days.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully things calm down, sooner than later,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Martha Chomyn, a Canadian currently in Puerto Vallarta, talks about what was going through her mind as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[712,43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-493444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-headlines","10":"tag-news","11":"tag-top-news","12":"tag-top-stories","13":"tag-topnews","14":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}