Canadians Trapped in Puerto Vallarta Say Some Roads Still Blocked, Situation Unclear

Canadians in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding area say some roads are still blocked and the situation remains dangerous and unclear amid a recent outbreak of violence in Mexico between cartel members and government forces.

Ottawa resident Carolyn Percy-Searle told The Epoch Times that she and her husband Craig arrived at their timeshare in Puerto Vallarta late on Feb. 20. She said days later, after watching the Canada-U.S. Olympic hockey game on Feb. 22, they went outside and saw “smoke and numerous fires all around.”

“The fires continued through the day plus we heard bangs, assuming guns or fires. It was a rough, chaotic day,” Percy-Searle said in a Feb. 23 interview from Puerto Vallarta. “By suppertime the fires stopped, but started at night with looting downtown. We were warned to blockade our doors when we went to sleep.”

The killing of drug cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera-Cervantes by Mexican special forces on Feb. 22 has led to retaliatory violence across the country, with the cartel burning gas stations, businesses, and vehicles, and setting up roadblocks in several areas of the country, including Puerto Vallarta.

El Mencho led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal organization involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking.

At least 25 members of the National Guard have been killed following the operation to capture El Mencho, Mexican authorities have said. Authorities have not announced casualties among cartel members. No civilian deaths have been reported.

Percy-Searle said that when clashes broke out Feb. 22 it was hard to obtain any news of what was happening, as television was down. She said they relied on social media, Canadian online news sites, and other guests to get information

“This morning we were allowed beach access and are on the beach now reading. Our front doors are still locked. Schools, banks, and stores still shut down,” she said.

She said she was especially fearful after being directed to barricade her hotel room doors on Feb. 22, but that Feb. 23 brought a “different scenario” and “being let out made us hopeful that things may return to normal.”

Percy-Searle and her husband are scheduled to stay for three weeks but will wait to see how the situation develops, noting they are registered with Global Affairs Canada.

“I got an SOS email from them yesterday with phone, email links and contact points. That was comforting,” she said.

‘We’re Stuck Here’

Bruce McComber from near Sarnia, Ont., said he and his wife are safe after leaving Puerto Vallarta just before the violence broke out. They are now staying at the small beach town of Mayto about two hours south of the city for a few days, as travel conditions remain precarious.

“We’re stuck here right now because the road’s still blocked,” McComber said in a Feb. 23 interview with The Epoch Times, adding that he and his wife own a condo in Puerto Vallarta and have been coming to the area for 25 years with no issues.

McComber said the gas stations and many convenience stores have been burned down in El Tuito, a town located about an hour south of Puerto Vallarta, and an hour east of where he and his wife are staying.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on Feb. 23 that most blockaded roads in Mexico have been cleared and “remaining affected areas are under operational control and being fully reopened.”

While McComber said the situation was “a lot quieter” on Feb. 23 compared to Feb. 22, and he’s not very concerned, friends of his in Puerto Vallarta are in “panic mode.”

“This doesn’t really panic me much, but my friends are kind of in panic mode,” he said. “They’ve been trying to register with Canadian government. Nobody can register; nothing works… probably because it’s getting overloaded.”

McComber said the violence won’t affect his future plans to come back to Mexico and stay in his condo in Puerto Vallarta, which he said has remained safe and undamaged during the clashes. He added that he expects the road to Puerto Vallarta to open on Feb. 24.

Travel Updates

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Feb. 23 that more than 26,000 Canadians are currently registered in Mexico with Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

The ministry recently updated its travel advisory, warning Canadians to avoid large areas of Mexico due to high incidences of violence and crime, including in Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is situated. Anand said there are no immediate plans for repatriation flights to get Canadians out of Mexico.

Anand told reporters the morning of Feb. 23 that Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre had taken more than 440 calls from Canadians requesting more information about flights and travel warnings in the past 24 hours. She said this included two calls for consular support that “relate to Canadians who have non-life-threatening injuries.”

Anand said it was unclear if these calls for support for injuries related to the clashes between cartel members and government forces.

Anand said she has been told by Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente that the situation in Mexico should stabilize and return to normal “in the coming days.”

Air Canada, WestJEt, and Air Transat said later on Feb. 23 that they are resuming flights to Puerto Vallarta starting on Feb. 24.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had said on the morning of Feb. 23 that flights to and from Puerto Vallarta were paused as a precaution but should be back to normal “at the latest tomorrow.”

An update from the Puerto Vallarta airport Feb. 23 around 1:30 p.m. EST said the airport is open and “limited amounts” of international flights are now arriving.