Tourists Stranded in Mexico After Cartel Violence Erupts: 'I Watched Them Explode a Jeep'

Across Mexico’s coastal city of Puerto Vallarta, tourists came to understand the day by its sounds: an explosion, then another, then the rush of people running in from the street. Burned-out cars and roadblocks choked the main avenues as visitors pulled back into hotels and waited, stranded as airlines canceled flights and authorities warned travelers to shelter in place. Read more: What to Know About the Operation to Kill Mexican Drug Lord ‘El Mencho’—and the U.S.’s Role From his hotel room, a Canadian traveler staying close to the city’s port watched the chaos unfold below. He had been preparing to leave for the airport when the first car exploded outside the lobby. “I wasn’t really sure what was happening, then people from the street were running in,” he said, requesting anonymity because of restrictions tied to his employment. “Then I went up to my room and I watched them explode a Jeep.” Traveling with children and elderly family members, he said they barricaded the door, pulled down the privacy blind, and sat for hours watching what was happening outside. The violence in Puerto Vallarta, a picturesque beach town more than 500 miles west of Mexico City, followed a sweeping military crackdown on a major drug cartel network and the killing of its leader, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho.” The operation was met with swift retaliation in areas where the cartel maintains control. Multiple outlets reported clashes between cartel members and government security forces in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states, with vehicles set ablaze and highways blocked. The U.S. State Department warned citizens in some parts of Mexico to shelter in place. In Puerto Vallarta, cartel roadblocks leading to the airport disrupted airline operations, triggering widespread cancellations of domestic and international flights and leaving tourists uncertain when they would be able to leave. Sean Leighton, a Seattle-based Canadian who has visited Puerto Vallarta once a year for the past decade, headed to the rooftop of his Airbnb apartment, where he was staying with his fiancée and a friend. The streets, usually thick with traffic, were empty except for a few people on motorbikes. Three thick smokestacks billowed two blocks away. “I went up to the rooftop to just see what was going on, and it was immediately clear to me that something was wrong,” Leighton said. When he rushed back downstairs and told the others to start packing, the motorbikers began smashing the windows of a mattress store across the street. They circled back and set it on fire, a scene Leighton described as “very chaotic.” “Once the fire started, I quickly ran into the fire escape to check for a fire extinguisher, and I ran down there with a fire extinguisher to try and put the fire out,” he said, explaining that he did not want the flames to spread to their building. But the fire quickly engulfed the entire store, forcing the group to abandon the apartment altogether. “It was scary, because the only people on the street were the cartel, and I was like, I don’t know what they’re gonna do if they find three tourists on the street,” he said. They eventually fled to their friends’ apartment 20 minutes away from their place.   The clashes between the cartel and military forces have fueled a deluge of disinformation on social media, compounding anxiety among those stranded in the city. Giovanni Rocco, who traveled from Washington, D.C., said it was difficult to find credible information as events unfolded. Social media posts falsely claimed on Sunday that the cartel had taken over the airport in Guadalajara, which the airport refuted on its official account on X. Other baseless claims suggested cartels planned to move into hotels or round up U.S. citizens. There has been no official report supporting those claims. “What I’m trying to get answers to is, is it safe for me to return to my apartment right now? Where can I find drinkable water? And I met with [misinformation],” Leighton said. “That’s honestly just been so frustrating.” By Monday morning, photos obtained by TIME showed long lines of locals and tourists forming outside Walmart and Sam’s Club, even though there was no sign the stores would open. Leighton said there were also long lines outside a few small bodegas that remained open. It is unclear when the flights in or out of Puerto Vallarta would fully resume, as military forces work to clear roadblocks from major intersections. The Canadian traveler also saw from his balcony a cruise ship picking up to 10 travelers from the port. His flight departure date remains uncertain, as most parts of the city are still anxiously waiting for signs to return to normalcy. “There are still destroyed cars in the street, but traffic is just driving around,” he said. “I think the city is starting to move on. Kinda crazy to me.”