American tourists left stranded in beautiful Mexico hotspot as cartels torch cars and wreak havoc in ‘code red’ attack
Mexico’s tourist hub of Puerto Vallarta has been thrown into fiery chaos after federal forces launched an operation to kill a reputed cartel leader who fought back on the city’s embattled streets.
The U.S. State Department issued a security alert for all Americans stranded in the area, warning them to shelter in place, avoid crowds and minimize their movements.
Photos of the disaster from across the city showed buses bursting into flames, homes set on fire and black smoke billowing into the sky during the unrest.
The intense chaos and code red alert was triggered early Sunday when the Mexican Army entered the rustic town of Tapalpa, about 170 miles southeast of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco state.
According to senior officials speaking to local publications, they killed Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes.
El Mencho was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels and a key player in smuggling methamphetamine and fentanyl into the United States.
Videos circulating on social media show burning vehicles in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Tapalpa in the state of Jalisco.
Armed bandits on motorcycles and their gunfire were also reported by Puerto Vallarta residents.
People in Guanajuato said they watched as pharmacies and grocery stores were set on fire across the state.
Fiery chaos has broken out in the Mexican state of Jalisco, leaving some tourists stranded. A bus set on fire by cartel members in the state was photographed
Chaos and destruction erupted in Mexican city
A bus used as a roadblock by organized crime burned down following a federal operation that a government source said killed Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as ‘El Mencho’.
Authorities are actively working to contain the cartel’s reactions and strengthen security following the killing of El Mencho.
On Sunday morning, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro announced on the X channel: ‘Federal forces carried out an operation in Tapalpa a few hours ago, which led to clashes in the region.
‘In addition, as a result of this operation, people in various parts of the region and other parts of Jalisco burned vehicles and blocked their roads to prevent the action of the authorities.
‘I gave instructions to immediately establish a security committee consisting of officials from all three levels of government and activate the code red in order to prevent actions against the public.’
People on social media reported being stranded in Puerto Vallarta, with thick columns of smoke rising over the city. It was reported that at least ten vehicles were set on fire across the city.
One user on Facebook wrote: ‘My daughter is in an Airbnb right now, I just spoke to her and the whole town is in quarantine, safe as we speak but this is a very scary situation.’
Another user wrote: ‘We are in Villa del Palmar in Puerto Vallarta and there is black smoke everywhere, no buses or taxis, flights canceled, shops closed, we are not going anywhere. ‘I was going to sit on the beach but the smell of smoke was awful and I was told it might be poisonous.’
Others on Reddit said they were about to board a flight to the Pacific coast city just before they heard the news.
Columns of black smoke can be seen rising from Puerto Vallarta, a city popular with tourists. The chaos is thought to have occurred in response to federal authorities killing a prominent cartel leader
A member of the Mexican security forces is seen standing guard next to a burning vehicle. At least ten such vehicles were reportedly set on fire
Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes was killed by Mexican federal forces on Sunday, senior officials told local publications.
“I was AT THE AIRPORT TERMINAL waiting to get there when we heard this was happening,” one user on Reddit said. ‘[I’m] We are returning home in the car. In a follow-up comment, the user wrote that all flights to PV (Puerto Vallarta) have been suspended indefinitely.
Public transportation is suspended in Puerto Vallarta, and hotels in the city are advising guests to stay indoors. Some workplaces were temporarily closed.
Alfredo Bedolla, governor of the neighboring state of Michoacán, also reported that 13 municipalities under his jurisdiction are facing similar unrest.
Residents of Tapalpa, where El Mencho was killed, reported that planes and military convoys were flying over the town hours before the operation to eliminate the cartel leader.
Official roadblocks were later reported in at least six states, including Jalisco, Michoacán, Colima, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, and Aguascalientes.
Mexico’s federal Ministry of Security announced that it was working to restore order and that its priority was to ‘ensure the safety and protection of citizens’.
