{"id":167657,"date":"2026-02-24T23:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/167657\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T23:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T23:18:08","slug":"florida-couple-stranded-in-mexico-amid-cartel-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/167657\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida couple stranded in Mexico amid cartel violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tA Central Florida couple remains stranded in Mexico after violence broke out near their resort over the weekend, following the death of a powerful cartel leader.Wendee Parks and her husband traveled from their home in Viera to Puerto Vallarta for a family destination wedding. The celebration quickly turned frightening when the couple woke up on Sunday to smoke, reports of violence, and instructions to remain inside their resort.\u201cWe were supposed to fly out Sunday, but everything was shut down,\u201d Parks said. \u201cNothing was happening or leaving.\u201dParks said the couple saw signs of a major security response in the area.\u201cWe saw Black Hawk helicopters going by. We saw military ships going into the bay,\u201d she said.The couple was scheduled to return home to Orlando on Sunday, but those plans fell apart amid the unrest.\u201cWe were a little scared, panicked, I\u2019m not going to lie,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was like, ‘wow, is it moving closer?’ It was hard to tell. There was a charred bus less than a mile from here.\u201d’Shelter in place’Late Sunday night, the U.S. Department of State issued a security alert after the killing of one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful cartel leaders. The alert urged Americans in Puerto Vallarta and other areas to shelter in place, limit movement, and keep family and friends updated on their safety. According to Parks, the alert coincided with widespread flight cancellations and disruptions at the airport.\u201cIt was a little scary because there was gunfire outside the airport, and people were being told to go into the kitchen and get down,\u201d she said.Mexican Consulate in OrlandoWESH 2 went to the Mexican Consulate in Orlando. Officials there said they could not comment on the situation and had not received any calls or reports related to it prior to the visit.Parks said the uncertainty over the past several days has been the hardest part of the experience. The couple is now booked on a flight home later Tuesday night.\u201cEveryone is trying to get out,\u201d Parks said. \u201cFlights are now leaving.\u201dThe State Department says the security situation remains fluid in parts of Mexico and continues to urge Americans to limit travel, stay alert, and follow guidance from local authorities.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tBREVARD COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A Central Florida couple remains stranded in Mexico after violence broke out near their resort over the weekend, following the death of a powerful cartel leader<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wendee Parks and her husband traveled from their home in Viera to Puerto Vallarta for a family destination wedding. <\/p>\n

The celebration quickly turned frightening when the couple woke up on Sunday to smoke, reports of violence, and instructions to remain inside their resort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were supposed to fly out Sunday, but everything was shut down,\u201d Parks said. \u201cNothing was happening or leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parks said the couple saw signs of a major security response in the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw Black Hawk helicopters going by. We saw military ships going into the bay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The couple was scheduled to return home to Orlando on Sunday, but those plans fell apart amid the unrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were a little scared, panicked, I\u2019m not going to lie,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was like, ‘wow, is it moving closer?’ It was hard to tell. There was a charred bus less than a mile from here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Vehicles<\/p>\n

\n\t\tMarco Ugarte\/AP via CNN\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVehicles drive past a charred bus the day after the Mexican army killed Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” in Guadalajara, Mexico, Monday, February 23.<\/p>\n

‘Shelter in place’<\/p>\n

Late Sunday night, the U.S. Department of State issued a security alert after the killing of one of Mexico\u2019s most powerful cartel leaders. The alert urged Americans in Puerto Vallarta and other areas to shelter in place, limit movement, and keep family and friends updated on their safety.<\/p>\n

According to Parks, the alert coincided with widespread flight cancellations and disruptions at the airport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a little scary because there was gunfire outside the airport, and people were being told to go into the kitchen and get down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mexican Consulate in Orlando<\/p>\n

WESH 2 went to the Mexican Consulate in Orlando. Officials there said they could not comment on the situation and had not received any calls or reports related to it prior to the visit.<\/p>\n

Parks said the uncertainty over the past several days has been the hardest part of the experience. The couple is now booked on a flight home later Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is trying to get out,\u201d Parks said. \u201cFlights are now leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The State Department says the security situation remains fluid in parts of Mexico and continues to urge Americans to limit travel, stay alert, and follow guidance from local authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Central Florida couple remains stranded in Mexico after violence broke out near their resort over the weekend,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6731,20354,79633,2954,79634,79172,79637,28,30,29,4392,79631,139,79636,31711,4176,23002,64807,5125,79632,79635],"class_list":{"0":"post-167657","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-airport","9":"tag-americans","10":"tag-americans-stranded-in-mexico-amid-cartel-violence","11":"tag-area","12":"tag-brevard-couple","13":"tag-cartel-violence","14":"tag-flight-home","15":"tag-florida","16":"tag-florida-headlines","17":"tag-florida-news","18":"tag-mexico","19":"tag-mexico-cartel-leader-killed","20":"tag-orlando","21":"tag-powerful-cartel-leader","22":"tag-puerto-vallarta","23":"tag-report","24":"tag-resort","25":"tag-security-alert","26":"tag-sunday","27":"tag-travelers-stuck-in-mexico","28":"tag-wendee-parks"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}