‘We are just hunkering down’: GTA residents share experiences as violence erupts near Puerto Vallarta

Martha Chomyn, a Canadian currently in Puerto Vallarta, talks about what was going through her mind as a shelter in place urges all people to stay indoors.

Several residents of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area are currently in Mexico’s popular Puerto Vallarta area where cartel-related violence has erupted.

East Toronto resident Pat Silver spends several months of the year at her home in the town’s Nuevo Vallarta resort community.

On Sunday evening, Silver told CP24.com that she and her partner Tim Philipps received news that earlier today the New Generation Cartel was in town “burning stores, cars and buses, and shooting randomly.”

“This is all in retribution for the Mexican military killing the head of that cartel, who is dubbed El Mencho. Burning cars are being placed strategically by main intersections where people would go to shop, but that is a moot point since the Mayor has ordered all shops and services to be closed, including transportation,” said Silver, who lives very close to Puerto Vallarta’s airport.

She said the cartel’s members have placed spikes on the street to prevent people from driving, adding that a friend is at a local hospital following hip surgery on Friday, which is currently on lockdown and can’t be accessed by emergency vehicles due to spikes on that street.

“Another friend went for a short walk into town this morning only to be confronted by fires in the local sports stadium and people with AK47s,” Silver said.

• IN PICTURES: Violence erupts in Mexico, leaving Canadians on high alert

She said the local airport also closed early today, with planes diverting to Cabo San Lucas and Guadalajara, or turning around to return to their point of origin. It is also expected to be closed tomorrow, she said.

“We are being warned that there is a deadline around now for the military to release the son of El Mencho or cartel members will start going house to house. People have been told not to open their doors for anyone, even those claiming to be police,” Silver said, adding as far as she knows, no one has been injured locally, only cartel members who were involved at the capture site.

“All businesses are shut down today and probably tomorrow. We’ve been told to make sure to charge our devices and conserve water as the cartels could target infrastructure.”

Despite the unrest, Silver said they are safe in their condo complex and are keeping calm.

“We are just hunkering down until we are told it is safe to go beyond our property,” said Silver, who was supposed to perform on Sunday night with a 44-piece orchestra for a gala concert featuring a Broadway singer. That event has been postponed for obvious reasons.

“Our staff can’t leave, so the residents are making sure they have a place to sleep tonight and meals,” she said.

‘A very scary time’

Toronto resident Sandra Crowe has spent three months of the year in Puerto Vallarta for the past several years. She has a condo in a gated community and tells CP24 that she is currently safe.

However, that wasn’t so much the case this morning when she was out on a bike ride, unaware of the turmoil that was unfolding, and struggled to get home.

“(It was) a very scary time,” Crowe shared.

She said she was in a common area when she saw plumes of smoke and at one point heard the word cartel.

“I still didn’t think much of it until there was a loud sound and people started running,” she said.

She said she pedaled quick to try to return home but kept being stopped by cars on fire or seeing young guys on motorcycles. Crowe says it took her about an hour to make it back.

“The scariest (roads) to me were the ones that were completely deserted and the stores and the homes were shuttered up,” she said.

“Those ones scared me more than any road.”

Crowe, who said she also saw some military helicopters, is now sheltering in place with her family and has registered with the Canadian Consulate to get any updates on the situation an to keep them informed about where they are.

“This is very usual. Puerto Vallarta is generally one of the very safe areas,” said Crowe, who is scheduled return to Canada on March 2 but said she’ll consider coming back earlier if the situation doesn’t improve.

Martha Chomyn, also of Toronto, is currently stranded in Puerto Vallarta amid the violence. She and her husband are expected to board a flight back to Canada on Wednesday.

“It’s been a pretty crazy day,” she told CP24.

‘Pretty unsettling’

Chomyn, who is staying in a gated vacation complex in the town’s Amapas neighbourhood, said she and her husband woke up this morning to the sound of screeching tires. She said he stepped outside to investigate and saw a bus completely blocking the road along with a couple men carrying guns.

“I think the was the first indication that something was wrong. And then all of a sudden the bus was on fire,” she said.

The incident, she said, happened right outside their balcony.

“We saw this huge plume of smoke and flames coming up so it was pretty unsettling.”

Chomyn said what made things scary was not knowing what was going on and if they’d need to flee their condo at a moment’s notice, if things escalated.

She and her husband then sequestered themselves in the washroom before about an hour before venturing out to chat with some of their neighbours. They also took to social media to get a better understanding of the situation, she said.

“It was really scary getting the breaking news that the cartels were here,” she said, adding they also saw army helicopters and vehicles patrolling the streets.

Chomyn said she hopes the unrest doesn’t flare up again before they leave in a few days.

“Hopefully things calm down, sooner than later,” she said.