{"id":167719,"date":"2026-02-25T00:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T00:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/167719\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T00:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T00:07:07","slug":"americans-stranded-in-mexico-after-cartel-leaders-killing-sparks-unrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/167719\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans stranded in Mexico after cartel leader\u2019s killing sparks unrest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The State Department issued a shelter-in-place advisory on Sunday as a Tampa-area traveler describes \u201chigh anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 Many American tourists visiting Mexico remain stranded after the killing of one of the nation\u2019s largest drug cartel leaders, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtsp.com\/article\/news\/nation-world\/who-is-el-mencho-mexico-jalisco-new-generation-cartel-leader-nemesio-oseguera-cervantes\/507-4f92c3c8-a320-49eb-9a6a-5e76357d07e9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">El Mencho<\/a>,\u201d triggered unrest that left dozens dead and disrupted travel.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Nemesio Rub\u00e9n Oseguera Cervantes, among the most wanted drug lords in the world, was killed in a Mexican military operation on Sunday. In the days since, violence has led to property damage and panic at one of Mexico\u2019s busiest airports, Guadalajara International Airport, with travelers seen running through terminals as unrest unfolded on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone has been super worried. I have been assuring them that we are okay,\u201d said Raymond Garcia, a Hernando County resident vacationing in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Garcia described the atmosphere in the immediate aftermath as tense. \u201cIt was high anxiety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>On Sunday, the U.S. State Department issued a shelter-in-place advisory for Americans in Mexico, urging them to find a safe place to stay and minimize any unnecessary travel.<\/p>\n<p>Garcia\u2019s return flight out of Puerto Vallarta was delayed multiple times today, while two of the friends he was traveling with had their trips to Miami and New York fully cancelled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand the situation. So, I&#8217;m a patient person. I do want to get home. I feel like I&#8217;m getting sick, or a sickness of some sort. So I would like to get home. I&#8217;ve just been kind of doing work while I&#8217;m here waiting it out,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n<p>By Tuesday, he said, conditions appeared to be stabilizing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey&#8217;re cleaning up the different businesses that have been burned. A lot of cars and buses, all over the city; they&#8217;re starting to move those out of the way,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n<p>According to the State Department, most Mexican airports are now operating normally.<\/p>\n<p>Aviation expert for 10 Tampa Bay News, Mark Weinkrantz, said travelers should expect an increased military presence as authorities seek to protect tourism over the next several days to weeks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you&#8217;re in Mexico, you want to get out. When they tell you it&#8217;s safe, it&#8217;s time to go. Will this situation improve over time? We can hope, but we have no control,\u201d Weinkrantz said.<\/p>\n<p>Experts also advise international travelers to ensure their passports are valid for at least six months beyond their travel dates and to know the locations of the nearest U.S. embassies or consulates in the countries they are visiting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The State Department issued a shelter-in-place advisory on Sunday as a Tampa-area traveler describes \u201chigh anxiety.\u201d TAMPA, Fla.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-167719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167719","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=167719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}