U.S. citizens in several cities across Mexico have been urged to shelter in place amid widespread violence following the killing of the leader of a powerful cartel.
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The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico said Sunday that while no airports have been closed, roadblocks have impacted airline operations and flights have been canceled in both Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta — two popular tourist destinations for Americans. United Airlines told Scripps News on Monday that it would resume flights to and from Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, while other airlines continued to monitor the situation.
"Due to ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity, U.S. citizens in a number of locations in Mexico are urged to shelter in place," the security alert stated. "U.S. government staff in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco/Nayarit), Ciudad Guzman (Jalisco), Cancun (Quintana Roo), Playa del Carmen (Quintana Roo), Cozumel (Quintana Roo), Reynosa (Tamaulipas state), Tijuana (Baja California), and Michoacan will shelter in place and work remotely on Monday, February 23, and U.S. citizens should do the same. All U.S. government staff at Consulate General Monterrey have been directed to remain in the Monterrey metropolitan area, and U.S. government staff have been directed not to travel to Mazatlan through Wednesday, February 25."
The Mexican Army on Sunday killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, who went by the name “El Mencho." He was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which the U.S. considers to be as powerful as the Sinaloa cartel and is known for trafficking drugs into the U.S. In the aftermath, cartel gunmen responded with violence, torching cars that blocked roads across the country and prompting many civilians to lock themselves indoors.
Fighting between cartel gunmen and Mexican security forces continued through Monday.
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Aaron Mason, who is the news director for the Scripps News Group station in Buffalo, New York, was vacationing in Puerta Vallarta at the time of the killing and said he's okay but that things on the ground remain uncertain.
"One thing we're wondering is food — we don't have any food really at our house," Mason said. "We're kind of joking about it and making, you know, making the most of that because what are you going to do, right? But, you know, everything is shut down. All the businesses are shut down — restaurants, corners stores, they're all shut down. There is video of a number of cars that have been lit on fire, that were lit on fire outside a Costco here."
It all comes as President Donald Trump has urged Mexico to do more to combat cartels and the flow of drugs into the U.S. He has threatened tariffs or military action if the country does not show results.
Last summer, Mexico expelled over two dozen high-ranking cartel figures to the U.S. in a deal with the Trump administration to combat criminal networks accused of drug smuggling. As part of the deal, the U.S. Justice Department promised not to seek the death penalty in any of the cases.
