The US and Canada urged their citizens in parts of Mexico to “shelter in place” on Sunday as a Mexican cartel retaliated for the death of its leader.
In videos shared online, burning vehicles and plumes of smoke could be seen rising from Puerto Vallarta and other cities in Mexico. Flights already on their way to the region from the US turned around, and Air Canada said it was suspending operations to Puerto Vallarta.
There were reports that the US helped with intelligence and other support that helped the Mexican government get “El Mencho”
The videos coming out of that area show a lot of random burning and violence.
I hope somehow the situation can get settled for both the citizens and the trapped tourists.
Status as of this morning from Spanish press Mexican correspondent: multiple states calling off school and other public activities and treating as ongoing emergency.
In other sources:
They do note:
State authorities have stressed that a number of viral images, including gunfire at Guadalajara airport, passengers on the tarmac at Puerto Vallarta airport and images of downtown Puerto Vallarta in flames, are all AI-generated images.
Here’s a local-to-me news report from late 2024 where he is talked about as being Chicago’s most-wanted fugitive, at least, and includes a quote from 2018 of a DEA agent saying he’s a person they’d “consider as public enemy one.” So maybe no official leaderboard, but he was high up there on the list of troublemakers for quite some time now:
Once the scene was secured, the cartel leader and his bodyguards were loaded onto a helicopter for emergency transport to a nearby hospital. However, Trevilla confirmed they died en route, noting they were already in “critical condition.”
All of them? I could see one or two dying en route–but all three of them dying suggests the possibity that the soldiers on board killed them.