Houston realtor Chris Garza was supposed to come home from Mexico Monday, but instead he was stuck sheltering in place in Puerto Vallarta after the death of cartel leader “El Mencho” spurred violent retaliation across the city.
Garza said he’s carried on as if it was a regular work day, receiving both calls and texts from people to check if he is safe while he writes offers on properties back home.
Like others who have shared their stories as unrest spread across the beach town, Garza said he woke up on Sunday morning to a big line of black smoke over the ocean and soon learned that the Mexican army had killed Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, who led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, according to reports from the Associated Press. The cartel then retaliated by burning businesses and vehicles across multiple Mexican states, the AP reported.
US ORDERS: American tourists shelter in place in Puerto Vallarta after Mexican cartel leader is killed
Garza said locals told him similar demonstrations have happened before when a cartel leader was apprehended or killed and usually last a day or two.
The U.S. State Department warned citizens to shelter in place across five Mexican states, including Jalisco, where Puerto Vallarta is located. Garza is awaiting for any updates for when he can return home, he said.
“Yesterday, I was a bit anxious, obviously,” Garza said. “But waking up this morning, it was really kind of a realization that I’m sure a lot of people are going to be afraid to come to Mexico for vacation in the near future. And I know for good reason of course, but the (Mexican) people do thrive on tourism. I really kind of feel sad for the Mexican people right now because this is their bread and butter … I will be back. We just have to wait to let this kind of figure itself out first.”
Garza said he travels to Puerto Vallarta annually with his colleagues from The Rayna Group. They typically stay in a villa that’s closer to the city, but this time stayed further out, which he said was “a blessing in disguise.”
In addition to smoke, Garza said he saw military helicopters flying over what would normally be a busy street next to him. He said he was given plenty of resources by staff at the villa before they left to tend to their families in the area.
“The villa’s done a great job with coordinating our safety,” he said, noting the location. “We knew there were obviously cartel issues here, but (Puerto Vallarta) is notoriously safe. And even as we’re experiencing this, we just really feel bad for the people here.”
Garza said he hopes to book a flight back home either on Feb. 26 or 27.
This article originally published at Houston realtor shelters in Puerto Vallarta after reported killing of cartel leader ‘El Mencho’.