American tourists visiting the Puerto Vallarta have started to complain online about being stuck at luxury resorts as cartel violence ripped through the area.
Terrifying photos and videos shared online showed tourists and airport personnel alike running as armed cartel members took over the airport.
Armed thugs on motorcycles and the sounds of their gunfire have also been reported by residents of Puerto Vallarta. Videos of Mexican forces exchanging fire with cartel members have started popping up on X and Instagram.
Smoke was also seen billowing to the sky after cartel members set fire to idle vehicles, as the US State Department issued a security alert telling American tourists to shelter in place, avoid crowds, and minimize their movements.
The violence began in retaliation to the Mexican Army killing Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes in Tapalpa, which is about 170 miles southeast of Puerto Vallarta, in the state of Jalisco.
El Mencho was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels that plays a key role in trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl to the US.
But as violence gripped the region, influencers took to social media to bemoan how they were stuck in the tourist hotspot.
‘We were supposed to leave this morning, and right as our shuttle came, our shuttle never showed up because they could not leave the airport due to a shutdown, due to cartel retaliation,’ makeup artist and mom influencer Kaila R Gibson shared in a video on Instagram,
‘So I really want to cry, I miss my baby,’ she continued. ‘It’s really scary, honestly. I have no idea how long we’re going to be here for. And it’s just quite terrifying.’
Violence gripped the Mexican state of Jalisco on Sunday following the death of cartel leader Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes. A burnt-out bus allegedly set on fire by cartel members is pictured on a highway
Smoke billowed at a distance in the popular tourist hotspot
‘So if you could pray, I would super appreciate that – and pray for all the other girls that are also stuck here,’ she told her 275,000 followers.
In a follow-up post, she added that she is also ‘so sad for the families here as well.’
‘I’ve never felt unsafe here because the cartel stays out of the tourist areas,’ she said.
Still, Gibson said she was ‘praying we make it home to our babies soon and the people here are safe.’
Meanwhile, on TikTok another makeup artist said she was left stranded following a makeup retreat.
She said she had received a text from the airline that ‘basically there will be no travel through February 26 due to “civil unrest.”‘
In another video, she lamented that she will be ‘here until we’re not here.’
As night then descended, the makeup artist told her followers how the resort ‘closed all the restaurants except for the buffet, and they said room service was available, but there was no availability.
‘So I’m rationing deserts, I’m eating my feelings and I’m drinking all night,’ the influencer, with more than 78,300 followers said.
Firefighters extinguish a burning bus set on fire by cartel members
National Guard stood watch on the side of a highway connecting Mexico City with the state of Puebla after alleged cartel members set fire to a bus
Firefighters were seen extinguishing a burning vehicle set on fire on Sunday
She added that even if her flight was able to depart on Monday, she does not know whether she would feel safe.
‘So until then I will eat desert and keep y’all posted.’
But others tried to make the best of their misfortune, with Tarik Hagen filming himself dancing in his room.
‘Currently trapped in Puerto Vallarta because the cartel has shut down the city,’ he wrote in text overlayed on the video, which he captioned: ‘Can’t leave our hotel and the airport is closed.’
Mexican National Guard agents have since secured the airport in Puerto Vallarta, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, which runs the Puerto Vallarta airport, said Sunday night.
‘However, by decision of the airlines, today … all international operations and most domestic flights are cancelled,’ it added.
In the meantime, US Senator Gary Peters urged tourists from to sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, which allows the State Department to contact Americans in case of an emergency.
