‘Something just felt off’: Edmontonians describe outbreak of violence in Puerto Vallarta

Thousands of Albertans are stuck in Mexico, waiting to see when they'll be able to get home. CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti reports.

Edmontonians stranded in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, due to cartel violence were cautiously hopeful Monday morning that things in the Jalisco state were returning to normal.

‘There’s more people on the streets right now. They’ve just opened up a road… There’s more traffic. There’s more cab drivers out," Farah Saunders told CTV News Edmonton in an early interview.

She and her husband have been celebrating their anniversary near the resort area and were notified on Sunday of their Monday flight’s cancellation.

That morning, fire smoke was visible from their hotel window, but the couple did not realize the scope of the violence that had erupted in the wake of the Mexican army killing Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), until they walked outside.

“Something just felt off. The traffic was gone and there were a few tourists around. We (saw) a bus that had exploded; it wasn’t just a normal fire. There was a bus and a car that had exploded right in front of our hotel,” she recalled.

“We quickly learned it was the cartel. It was not just one fire – it was many fires. And we ran straight in and we haven’t really left since.”

The CJNG is accused of trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the U.S., and attacking government officials who challenge the cartel. The organization responded to Cervantes’ death by blocking roads and setting fires to vehicles. Twenty-five Mexican National Guard members were also killed in separate attacks.

“We went to bed pretty nervous last night. We were scared of power outages, we were scared there would be more gunfire, more fires. We didn’t know what to expect,” Saunders said.

Cartel’s reach ‘violently illustrated’

A burnt bus blocking a nearby road was also the first sign that “something was up” to Murray Billett, former Edmonton police commissioner, who lives in the area for the entire Canadian winter.

“I started to look over the city and there’s plumes of smoke popping up all over the place,” Billett said.

When the sun set Sunday evening, he said the sky was unusually red from the fire debris in the air.

He called the violence unprecedented and says he normally feels as safe in Puerto Vallarta as he does in Edmonton.

“(Puerto Vallarta) has never seen anything like this; Mexico hasn’t seen anything like this. This is history unfolding before our very eyes. Quite frankly, the degree of the reach of the cartel was violently illustrated yesterday,” he told CTV News Edmonton.

“They blocked off all the major arteries so people couldn’t get in or out and the cops and military couldn’t get to them properly. I know a well organized situation when I see one. It was chaos yesterday morning.”

However, like Saunders, it seemed to Billett that the chaos had eased overnight. He had been told public buses would resume later in the day and could see traffic slowly flowing again.

Both Canadians expressed immense gratitude to the locals who were caring for them throughout the shelter order, who were as helpless as the tourists.

“Everybody’s helping each other out. There’s nothing we can do. We’re stuck here together,” Saunders said.

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Public safety analyst Chris Lewis, who spoke to CTV News Edmonton from near Playa del Carmen, said although the violence hadn’t reached his area, the anxiety had.

“It’s obviously scary times. If it was right in the heart of this, I’d be nervous, too,” he acknowledged.

However, he said those travelling should know tourists aren’t usually targeted by cartels.

But they should heed government warnings and common sense, Lewis said.

“Stay indoors. If you had a tactical operation two houses down from you and the police are running around, there’s gunfire, would you go look around?” he asked.

“Listen to the government. Listen to the reports. Wait to find out when this has been cleared up.”

Canada’s travel guidance on Monday advised against non-essential travel in some areas and exercising a high degree of caution in others.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Kerry McAthey and Nicole Lampa, and The Associated Press