26,000 Canadians Registered in Mexico Amid Wave of Cartel Violence, Minister Anand Says

A day after a surge of violence in Mexico followed the military killing of a drug kingpin—prompting shelter-in-place orders—Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says thousands of Canadians in Mexico have registered with her department.

Anand said that more than 26,000 Canadians in Mexico had registered with Global Affairs Canada as of the morning of Feb. 23, an increase of nearly 8,000 from the previous day

Mexico is a popular tourist destination for Canadians during the winter months, and Anand said the total number of citizens currently in the country is “likely much higher.”

Global Affairs updated its travel advisory for Mexico on Feb. 22, and recommended avoiding all non-essential travel to large swathes of the country due to high levels of violence and organized crime.

Affected Mexican states like Jalisco, where resort towns like Puerto Vallarta are located, issued shelter-in-place orders.

The killing of drug cartel leader Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera-Cervantes by Mexican special forces on Feb. 22 led to retaliatory violence across the country, with the cartel setting up roadblocks, burning vehicles, and attacking gas stations and various institutions.

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

Ottawa added CJNG to its list of terrorist organizations a year ago, following in the United States’ footsteps. The cartel has a presence in Canada, with Toronto police seizing over 835 kilograms of cocaine linked to the group in January 2025.

Anand said she has spoken to her Mexican counterpart, Foreign Secretary Juan Ramón de la Fuente, who told her the situation in Mexico is expected to “normalize in the coming days.” She added that Mexico did not give Canada warning that it would undertake the operation to capture El Mencho.

Flights were disrupted due to the situation, and Anand said her government is in contact with airlines and Mexican authorities to restore service as soon as possible. Air Canada said on Feb. 22 it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta. WestJet also cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Manzanillo.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on the morning of Feb. 23 that airlines had taken the initiative to cancel flights, particularly to Puerto Vallarta, as a precaution. She said she expects all flights to be restored “sometime today, or at the latest tomorrow.”

Sheinbaum told reporters during a press conference in Mexico City that order is being restored after a day of violence.

“We woke up this morning with no road blockages and virtually all activity has been restored,” she said. “There is peace and quiet,” she added, attributing the situation to efforts from the government and armed forces.

Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, speaking alongside Sheinbaum, said that most of the road blockades have been removed. “The main roads have been cleared, and the remaining affected areas are under operational control and being fully reopened,” he said.

Harfuch said there had been 85 blockades of federal roadways across various Mexican states, including a number of them in areas popular with tourists like Baja California and Guerrero.

Authorities were also attacked by criminals, leading to the death of 25 members of the National Guard and one guard from the State Attorney General’s Office, Harfuch said.

Mexican Defence Secretary Gen. Ricardo Trevilla, also participated in the press conference and gave information on the raid that led to the death of El Mencho.

He said El Mencho was located on Feb. 20 through intelligence work that pinpointed his location in the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco state, two hours south of the major city Guadalajara.

Mexican special forces corroborated that El Mencho was on site and established a siege on the location. Trevilla described the attack as “very violent” as El Mencho’s security detail fired back on Mexican forces. Eight cartel members were killed at the scene, while three Mexican soldiers were injured.

El Mencho and two of his bodyguards fled to a wooded area but were located and wounded by special forces. El Mencho died while being transported to a medical facility.

Sheinbaum said that no U.S. forces were involved in the raid, adding that the Mexican side planned it entirely.

Trevilla said there had been an “important flow” of information with the United States on the case, adding that the relationship with the U.S. military’s Northern Command has been “greatly strengthened” under the Trump administration.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also said the United States has provided intelligence support to assist in the operation to capture El Mencho.

“‘El Mencho’ was a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland,” Leavitt said in a Feb. 22 statement on social media.

The U.S. government was offering a reward of up to US$15 million for the capture of El Mencho.