Mexican state that was epicentre of violence remains in ‘code red’ after death of cartel boss

The Mexican state of Jalisco will remain under a “code red” Monday, with public transport and schools remaining closed, its governor said Sunday. The announcement follows a day of violence in the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta in the wake of a government announcement that the head of one of the country’s most powerful crime groups was dead. 

Smoke from burning vehicles blackened the sky in Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Similar scenes played out in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, and across several states on Sunday morning.

Several airlines cancelled flights to and from Puerto Vallarta; some flights already in the air turned around before reaching the city.

Gov. Pablo Lemus Navarro issued a video statement announcing the continuation of the state’s state of emergency, saying he expected things to get back to normal in the coming days. 

“What we have lived today was exceptional,” said Lemus Navarro.

The state attorney general of Jalisco said in a statement that 25 people had been detained after a day of blockades, fires and looting. Various types of vehicles were burned at 65 different spots throughout the state, said the attorney general’s office.

The mass violence flared as federal authorities announced they had launched a special forces operation to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in a clash with federal authorities and died from his injuries while en route to Mexico City, the Secretariat of National Defence said in a statement.

The operation was initially launched in the municipality of Tapalpa, which sits roughly 300 kilometres southeast of Puerto Vallarta.

The National Defence Secretariat said that four people belonging to the CJNG were killed during the operation, and three cartel members were wounded, including El Mencho, but all died during transport. Two people were also detained, said the secretariat. 

Violence has also been reported in the states of Michoacán, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi. The attorney general of Michoacán said that four people had been killed following five confrontations between security forces and armed groups.

But the federal government said it was beginning to establish order.

The federal Security Secretariat said in a statement it had cleared out 17 of 21 blockades that were mounted, many with flaming vehicles, throughout the state of Jalisco.   

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised the work of the country’s security forces.

“In most of the national territory, activities continue to unfold in total normalcy,” Sheinbaum said in a statement.

Gladys McCormick, an associate professor of Latin American history at University of Syracuse, said that the death of El Mencho may trigger a much wider onslaught of violence. 

“He was a key leader of one of the most violent criminal groups in Mexico,” said McCormick. 

“As with the captures or killings of other drug cartel kingpins, we are likely to see violence in response to the sudden power vacuum.”

McCormick said the CJNG is already embroiled in conflict with competing criminal groups, which could also add gasoline to what appears to be a raging fire.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement that Canada “was deeply alarmed by reports of violence” and that the federal government was “closely monitoring the serious and rapidly evolving security situation.”

Global Affairs Canada also updated its travel advisory for Puerto Vallarta and other parts of the state of Jalisco. It says there is a “shelter in place order” in Puerto Vallarta and that all taxi and ride-share services are suspended. All Canadians in Jalisco are advised to keep a low profile, monitor media and follow the orders of local authorities.

There are currently 18,703 Canadians registered as being in Mexico, including 4,672 in Jalisco state, according to Global Affairs Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service.

Canadian airlines cancel flights

Toronto resident Tim Spencer, 39, who is vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, said fires started flaring in the city early in the morning. He said he went up to the roof of the Villa Divina hotel and saw corner stores and cars in flames.

“Everything’s just covered in smoke here at the moment,” he said. “Grey and smoggy everywhere and the smell, it’s just like that electrical fuel, gross fire smell.”

Spencer said his flight to Denver, which would have then taken him to Toronto, was cancelled Sunday morning. “I’ve never really seen anything like this before in my life, so it’s a little bit horrific,” he said.

In a post on social media platform X on Sunday afternoon, Air Canada said, “Due to an ongoing security situation in Puerto Vallarta” impacting its airport, the airline “has temporarily suspended operations there today. We are monitoring the situation and in contact with local authorities who are working to resolve the issue.”

Flights to Puerto Vallarta from Vancouver on WestJet, Porter and Flair airlines were also cancelled.