{"id":494981,"date":"2026-02-23T22:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/494981\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T22:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T22:33:08","slug":"ottawa-not-planning-to-send-evacuation-flights-to-mexico-anita-anand-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/494981\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa not planning to send evacuation flights to Mexico, Anita Anand says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Vehicles pass a burned car in Guadalajara, Mexico, a day after the Mexican army killed cartel leader ‘El Mencho.’Marco Ugarte\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is ruling out the deployment of aircraft to help evacuate Canadians from Mexico during a wave of violence connected to the death of a cartel leader.<\/p>\n

Thousands of Canadians in the Puerto Vallarta region have been directed by Ottawa to shelter in place after the death of a cartel leader prompted cartel members to respond by blocking roads and setting fire to vehicles.<\/p>\n

More than 26,000 Canadians in Mexico were registered with Global Affairs as of Monday morning. Canadian airlines have suspended all flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, a popular winter tourist destination, and Ottawa is urging travellers to avoid all unnecessary travel to the region.<\/p>\n

What to know about Canada\u2019s travel advisory in Mexico and flight cancellations amid violent unrest<\/a><\/p>\n

Ms. Anand said Monday that consular staff were ready to assist Canadians in Mexico but that government-run flights were off the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not at this time,\u201d Ms. Anand told a Monday morning news conference on Parliament Hill when asked about the possibility of sending planes to pick up Canadians.<\/p>\n

She urged Canadians to register with Global Affairs Canada, heed local safety guidance and only travel when it is safe to do so. Canadians who register can receive travel advice and timely updates about the situation, she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

As of 7 a.m. Monday, Ms. Anand said that 26,305 Canadians in Mexico have registered with Global Affairs, up from about 8,000 at the same time Sunday. <\/p>\n

Ms. Anand acknowledged that figure reflects only a fraction of the total number of Canadians in Mexico.<\/p>\n

In the previous 24 hours, she said Canada\u2019s Emergency Watch and Response Centre had received 440 calls from Canadians seeking information about flights and travel advisories, and that more staff are being added to handle increased calls.<\/p>\n

She also said her department is holding briefings for MPs on Monday to provide them with an update on the file.<\/p>\n

Dozens killed in Mexican military\u2019s attempt to capture cartel leader<\/a><\/p>\n

Mexico was plunged into a security crisis over the weekend after the Mexican army killed Nemesio Rub\u00e9n Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.<\/p>\n

President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that the situation was normalizing and that her government\u2019s priority was ensuring peace and security. <\/p>\n

Ms. Sheinbaum said flights to and from Puerto Vallarta were expected to resume Monday and Tuesday, adding that there were no active roadblocks as of Monday morning.<\/p>\n

Ms. Anand said Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ram\u00f3n de la Fuente told her on a phone call that the Mexican government hopes the conflict will subside soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe indicated that the situation should stabilize in the coming days and this was a targeted operation, which will not continue,\u201d Ms. Anand said at the news conference, referring to the Mexican government\u2019s efforts to end the conflict.<\/p>\n

The minister said that neither she nor the Canadian government were provided with any advance notice by the Mexican government about the operation against the cartel. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand gives an update on the situation in Mexico on Monday.Justin Tang\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Mexico\u2019s Foreign Minister also did not request any assistance from Canada during their conversation, she said.<\/p>\n

Ontario Premier Doug Ford warned against vacationing in Mexico and said Ontarians there should come home.<\/p>\n

He also said those considering vacations should look at other destinations and that his government would help, if needed, to get Ontarians out of Mexico. <\/p>\n

\u201cI highly recommend, don\u2019t go to Mexico. I highly recommended that before this happened,\u201d Mr. Ford said at Queen\u2019s Park on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s pretty unstable, when you\u2019re taking out drug cartels and all of sudden, they\u2019re hitting back against tourists and everyone else … My opinion, it\u2019s not a stable country right now. Don\u2019t go there, and maybe pick an island somewhere or [vacation] here in Canada.\u201d <\/p>\n

Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie acknowledged the challenges that Canadians are facing in areas of Mexico hit by the violence. \u201cTo all Canadians in Mexico, this House is holding you in our thoughts and prayers and we will all work for your safe return home,\u201d she told the Commons on Monday.<\/p>\n

The former Canadian charg\u00e9 d\u2019affaires to El Salvador and Canadian consul to Dallas said that, as a former diplomat, she appreciated the hard work that consular officers are now doing. \u201cI ask the government to continue to provide the necessary resources and assistance required on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

She urged Canadians in Mexico to register with Global Affairs and follow the advice of local authorities.<\/p>\n

Earlier: Canadians in Puerto Vallarta advised to shelter in place as Mexican army kills cartel leader<\/a><\/p>\n

Ms. Anand said she is monitoring what she called a \u201cserious and rapidly evolving\u201d security situation in various regions of Mexico. <\/p>\n

She said there is particular focus on several of the 31 Mexican states: Jalisco, which includes the cities of Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta; the Guerrero state that includes Acapulco; Michoac\u00e1n in western Mexico; Sinaloa, including the city of Mazatl\u00e1n; Quintana Roo, which includes Canc\u00fan; and Baja California, home to Tijuana. <\/p>\n

Ms. Anand said her department is also focused on providing helpful guidance to Canadians.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job in terms of supporting Canadians abroad is to provide as much support as possible. That type of support begins with providing accurate information about the situation on the ground,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that we are providing the most accurate advice possible, and we are doing that on a rolling basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The current turmoil in Mexico is taking place after Ms. Anand\u2019s cabinet colleagues, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald, led a massive trade mission with 370 delegates to Mexico last week. The mission ended on Feb. 20.<\/p>\n

With reports from Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Vehicles pass a burned car in Guadalajara, Mexico, a day after the Mexican…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,43,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,41,39,42,40,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":{"0":"post-494981","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-headlines","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-news","39":"tag-northwest-territories","40":"tag-nova-scotia","41":"tag-nunavut","42":"tag-ontario","43":"tag-pei","44":"tag-photos","45":"tag-political-news","46":"tag-political-opinion","47":"tag-politics","48":"tag-politics-news","49":"tag-quebec","50":"tag-sports-news","51":"tag-technology","52":"tag-top-news","53":"tag-top-stories","54":"tag-topnews","55":"tag-topstories","56":"tag-travel","57":"tag-trudeau","58":"tag-us-news","59":"tag-world-news","60":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494981","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=494981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}