Violence unfolding in Mexico impacts travelers across the country
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (NBC, KYMA) - The violence unfolding in Mexico is impacting travelers across the country.
This comes after the death of Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, otherwise known as "El Mencho," the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
He was killed by the Mexican Army during an operation to capture him in Tapala, Jalisco.
Puerto Vallarta looks more like a war zone than a tourist destination, with dozens of separate fires burning throughout the city.
"It's really scary. It's really scary," said Megan Phelps, an American in Mexico.
Phelps is from L.A. and lives half the year in Puerto Vallarta, but she never expected to see this view from her high-rise condo. She says at one point she counted 23 active fires.
"They were setting fire to some of the gas stations. They set fire to multiple cars in front of the Costco. Pretty much the city is on lockdown," Phelps shared.
The chaos there is impacting Bay Area travelers. At San Jose International Airport (SJC), a flight to Guadalajara was canceled. So was a Valaris flight scheduled to arrive from Puerto Vallarta that afternoon.
Norma Hernandez was set to fly from SJC to Guadalajara this week and drove all the way from Tracy to try to cancel the flight directly at the ticket counter because she couldn't get anyone to help her on the phone or online.
"I'm canceling the trip because I have family members that live in Guadalajara and when I spoke to them today they said that everything is shut down. The neighborhood and where my parents, where we were going to be staying with my parents, There was chaos, a building that was lit on fire, shots," Hernandez expressed.
At San Francisco International Airport, nine flights scheduled to arrive from Puerto Vallarta Sunday were canceled, according to the airport's website.
Both Air Canada and United Airlines say they're temporarily canceling all flights to Puerto Vallarta while Delta Airlines says its flights to the region may also be impacted through at least Thursday.
The U.S. State Department now advising Americans in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara to shelter in place due to cartel violence.
