Airlines to resume operations to Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta from Tuesday

The Mexican army on Sunday killed the leader of a major drug cartel during a security operation near Puerto Vallarta in western Mexico.

Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

The operation marked what authorities described as one of the most significant blows against organized crime in years.

• Who was El Mencho: What to know about the former cartel leader

Violence and unrest spread across multiple Mexican states in the immediate aftermath. Authorities deployed the army and the National Guard to restore order.

International responses were swift, with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) updating its travel advisory for Mexico, urging Canadians in affected regions to exercise a high degree of caution and monitor local guidance.

Canadian airlines adjusted schedules, with some flights delayed or cancelled amid security concerns.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand spoke Monday morning, addressing the security situation in Mexico.

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

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Here’s everything that happened on Monday:

Air Transat resuming Puerto Vallarta flights on Tuesday

Air Transat says it plans to resume operations to and from Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday, as the situation stabilizes.

“According to information provided by local authorities, no incidents related to road blockages have been reported in the state of Jalisco since midnight on February 23, and security measures have been reinforced,” the airline said in a statement to CTV News.

“To provide added peace of mind for its customers, Air Transat is maintaining a special flexibility measure for flights to Puerto Vallarta on February 24 and 25, allowing travellers to change their booking without penalty or cancel their trip in exchange for a travel credit valid for 12 months from the original return date,” the statement read.

Operations elsewhere in Mexico are running normally, the airline says.

Tammy Ibrahimpoor, CTVNews.ca National Digital Producer

Air Canada to resume flights to Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta from Tuesday

Air Canada said on Monday it will resume full operations from Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver to Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday.

Canada’s largest carrier also said that operations from Toronto to Guadalajara in western Mexico will resume on Wednesday.

Air Canada, United Airlines, Aeromexico and American Airlines had suspended flights to the area, following violence after the killing of a Mexican drug kingpin on Sunday.

Reporting by Carlos Méndez in Mexico City; Editing by Christian Schmollinger.

Reuters

WestJet to resume operations in Mexico from Tuesday

In a statement released Monday evening, WestJet airlines said it will resume scheduled operations to and from Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara and Manzanillo beginning Tuesday.

“WestJet flights to Mexico will operate as scheduled to all destinations, with the safety of our guests and partners remaining our top priority,” the statement posted on the website said.

WestJet also said it will “review” all expense submissions travellers have incurred because of this disruption.

“We continue to advise all guests to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport, provide additional travel time and anticipate the airport will be busy,” the airline said.

Aarjavee Raaj, CTVNews.ca Journalist

‘No significant new security incidents’ in Mexico Monday: ambassador

Canada’s Ambassador to Mexico Cameron MacKay says Mexico appears to be in a “period of stabilization” after Sunday’s violence and unrest.

“I know yesterday was a particularly worrying day for many people, and I’ll share that I myself have family and friends currently visiting Puerto Vallarta, so I’m very empathetic to those on the ground there and in Canada who were concerned,” MacKay said in an interview for CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos.

“But the bottom line up front for today is we appear to be in a period of stabilization,” he added. “There have been no significant new security incidents in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, or anywhere else across Mexico overnight or today.”

MacKay echoed Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s message that Canadians in Mexico should register with Global Affairs Canada. He said while the system has experienced technical issues and been intermittent since Sunday, it appears to be up and running now.

He also said domestic flights have resumed in Mexico, and he expects international flights back to Canada to start back up “as early as tomorrow.”

“I think every time Canadians leave Canada — and that includes traveling just across the border — you have to realize that you’re probably travelling to a place that’s less safe than Canada, and therefore you need to be well-advised, and you have to take the right steps to keep yourself safe when you travel,” MacKay said, when asked whether Canadians should have larger concerns about travelling to Mexico overall following the violence of Sunday.

“There are ways to travel safe abroad, and it just requires being sort of a good Canadian,” he also said. “Be tough, be smart, be prepared, just like going out in a winter storm and then and then go for it.”

Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News writer, producer

Security expert says ‘further acts of revenge’ by cartel possible

Jeanne Meserve, CTV News’ international security expert, says while things may be relatively calm in Puerto Vallarta and other parts of Mexico today, there’s no expectation that it will continue.

“There could be further acts of revenge by the cartel against the government for this strike, and then there is likely to be a power struggle within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel,” Meserve told CTV News Channel on Monday.

She added that there’s no clear successor to Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes – also known as “El Mencho” – which may lead to a power struggle that could spill into the streets.

Meserve says the Mexican government have a lot on their hands, as they’re simultaneously at war with the Sinaloa cartel, another huge and extraordinarily violent cartel.

“They know that these cartels are armed to the teeth, to such a degree, that they always pose a challenge to security forces in Mexico,” she said. “Clearly, the outbreak yesterday caught them a bit unaware, because there was such widespread mayhem across 20 different states in Mexico… but they do appear to have things more or less under control, at least for the immediate future.”

The United States had earlier announced a US$15 million reward leading to the arrest of “El Mencho,” and his cartel was declared to be a terrorist organization, Meserve said.

“Even after this significant takedown, (U.S.) President (Donald) Trump has called on Mexico to do even more to curb the cartels,” she said.

Elianna Lev, CTVNews.ca Journalist

Vancouver man says wife, children unable to leave Mexico amid violence

Andrew J. Fisher of Vancouver says his wife and two children are unable to leave Mexico as cartel-related violence continues in Puerto Vallarta.

Fisher, who has been living in Puerto Vallarta for several years, flew back to Vancouver last Saturday because his father is in hospital with a medical emergency. His wife and children, who are Mexican citizens, remain in Mexico without Canadian visas.

“Unfortunately, these events have affected my well-being,” Fisher said in an email to CTVNews.ca. “We have applied (for visa) twice but declined because I went through the process instead of a lawyer.”

He said he is speaking with his local member of Parliament for assistance and describes himself as “very stressed out.”

“It’s apparently quiet in Puerto Vallarta but in Ixtapa, North of the airport, the cartel are creating explosions still and my wife thinks it will get uglier there and not safe,” Fisher said.

Tammy Ibrahimpoor, CTVNews.ca National Digital Producer

Former Power Play host describes ‘ghostly’ streets in Puerto Vallarta

Don Martin, former host of CTV Power Play, says he saw pillars of smoke rising across the city while heading out to a watching expedition on Sunday.

“The whole city looked like it was under a heavy smog blanket,” Martin said in an interview with CTV News Channel Monday. “We didn’t get told what it was until we were on our way back, and suddenly we couldn’t get to the airport.”

Martin said he and his spouse were dropped at a dock and walked about 20 minutes to their accommodation, passing burned vehicles and damaged businesses.

“There was burnt buses and cars, and stores that had been firebombed. The streets were like an apocalypse… empty,” he said. “It just was ghostly.”

Martin said conditions appeared calmer Monday, with some traffic resuming and one nearby store open with “a lineup around the block to get some essentials.”

He added that many Canadians remain stranded, with flights only beginning to resume.

“There’s an awful lot of Canadians here,” Martin said. “The earliest they can do is Friday.”

Tammy Ibrahimpoor, CTVNews.ca National Digital Producer

Canadian calls unrest in Puerto Vallarta similar to ‘a war zone’

Murray Billett, who says he has been travelling to Puerto Vallarta for 30 years, described Sunday as “a very unusual” and unprecedented day in the resort city.

“I went out for my usual routine on my little terrace next door to me here, and there was a bus blocking the highway and no traffic whatsoever. And then I looked to the north, and I see billowing smoke, and there’s a bus on fire,” Billett told CTV News Channel Monday. “It looked like a war zone.”

Bennet said he has travelled to more than 40 countries and had never seen anything like this.

“To see my beautiful town being ripped apart. It’s historical,” he said.

Billett said things were beginning to return slowly to normal, but he urged caution.

“Stay put in Canada. Stay put here in Puerto Vallarta, until this mess gets sorted out and we get that reliable information from trusted sources,” he said.

Billett said he plans to remain for now, adding he is trusting in the resources in Mexico and good leadership in Canada to sort things out.

Tammy Ibrahimpoor, CTVNews.ca National Digital Producer

Canadian tourist says earliest flight home is March 1

A Canadian who visited Puerto Vallarta for his 43rd birthday told CTV News Channel on Monday that his only birthday wish is to get out of there.

Yogi Omar of Vancouver said he knew there was something wrong when he woke up Sunday to what he believed was fireworks, which never stopped.

“There are seven cars outside of our building that were being burned,” Omar said. “We saw smoke everywhere.”

Omar said there is no clear direction on what to do and the staff at the apartment where he’s staying are also frightened.

At one point, he was evacuated from the apartment and then brought back.

His Monday night flight with WestJet has been cancelled, although the airline offered him a voucher for accommodations.

“They said to keep on calling, so I’m continuing to call,” Omar said. “The earliest they’re saying (we can leave) is March 1 … which is very far from now.”

With many supermarkets either closed or burned down, he said it’s been hard to find food.

Staff at his apartment told him that it was safer for them to stay put for now.

Elianna Lev, CTVNews.ca Journalist

Canadian tourist says streets quiet

Marc Edge says the streets of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, are eerily quiet a day after fire and violence engulfed the popular tourist destination on Sunday.

The communications professor from Vancouver says he saw billowing clouds of black smoke and burned-out vehicles while walking on the boardwalk.

Cars burned out by cartel members blocked roads at more than 250 points in 20 Mexican states, including in Puerto Vallarta, and left smoke billowing into the air.

Edge says he’s been sheltering in place in his hotel and waiting to see if the Puerto Vallarta airport reopens in time for his scheduled flight on Tuesday.

Edge is just one of the approximately 5,000 Canadian tourists Global Affairs Canada says are currently in Jalisco State.

The Canadian Press

Quebec man says he was attacked as violence erupted

Yves Boutin was watching Canada play the U.S. for the gold medal on Sunday in Puerto Vallarta when he saw smoke coming from the town.

The retired Quebecer then took out his motorcycle to find out what was happening. When he arrived on scene, he said he saw several vehicles on fire, so he stopped to film the carnage with his cellphone.

“It was like a war zone,” Boutin told CTV News Montreal on Monday.

Moments later, he came face-to-face with people he believed to be cartel members, and things took a violent turn. He says he was chased for about a kilometre in the streets before he was caught and then attacked. The assailants torched his motorcycle in the middle of the street.

“He grabbed me, hit me on the face, and they put me down, and they were really aggressive,” Boutin said.

A family living nearby told him to take shelter in their home, where he slept overnight as residents were under a shelter-in-place order.

Joe Lofaro, CTV News Montreal digital reporter

Full story here.

Former deputy PM sheltering in place at Puerto Vallarta condo

Former deputy prime minister Sheila Copps is currently sheltering in place at her Puerto Vallarta condo.

“We’ve been kind of holed up here for the last day,” Copps told CTV News Channel on Monday. “We’re supposed to just stay at home and wait await further information.”

Copps says she was watching the Olympic gold medal hockey game early Sunday when she received a notice from her condo to stay in her unit. She says it’s rare for cartel members to make their presence known in Puerto Vallarta, a popular resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

“It seems to be an intimidation tactic to hit out at one of the tourism areas that’s really popular and hit the Mexican economy,” Copps said. “They’re usually very far away.”

Copps, who was a Liberal member of Parliament between 1984 and 2004, served as former prime minister Jean Chretien’s deputy between 1993 and 1997.

“At this point, we’re staying home until we get more information about when we can actually start moving around normally again,” Copps said. “Luckily, we have food and water in our place, so we’re not going to be looking for food. But in those hotels that don’t, it’s more problematic.”

Daniel Otis, CTVNews.ca journalist

Porter Airlines cancels flights, offers free changes

In a statement to CTV News on Monday, Porter Airlines said three roundtrip flights to Puerto Vallarta — from Hamilton, Ont., Ottawa, and Toronto — have been cancelled since Sunday.

A company spokesperson said passengers are being offered complimentary flight changes for Puerto Vallarta through to Wednesday, with refund options in some cases.

“Because this situation is evolving, we are monitoring it and will consider further policy and schedule updates as needed. This includes determining when flights can safely restart,” the spokesperson also wrote.

Spencer Van Dyk, CTV News writer, producer

With files from CTV News senior political correspondent Mike Le Couteur

Global Affairs received 440 calls

Anand said Global Affairs Canada received 440 calls, including two for non-life-threatening injuries and one request for financial assistance.

She did not specify how the two individuals were injured.

Lynn Chaya, CTVNews.ca journalist

‘Kinks’ in registration system: Anand

Anand says all Canadians in Mexico should register to ensure they can receive assistance and updated information from the federal government.

She admitted there have been “kinks” in the system for Canadians to register with Ottawa for updates but insists it is now fully functional.

The Canadian Press

Anand was not briefed on operation

In response to a question on whether she was given any warning that the operation was taking place, Anand says she was “not provided with any indication,” nor was the Canadian government.

Lynn Chaya, CTVNews.ca journalist

Anand addresses security situation

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she is in contact with her Mexican counterpart, who tells her that the situation should normalize in the coming days.

The Canadian ambassador to Mexico and consular staff are working with their counterparts, she adds, to ensure that Canadians stay safe.

“All Canadians in affected regions should heed the direction of local authorities and travel only when it is safe to do so,” she said.

As of 7 a.m. ET, she said, 26,305 Canadians in Mexico have registered with Global Affairs Canada, an increase of nearly 8,000 “from the same time yesterday.”

Lynn Chaya, CTVNews.ca journalist

Stranded Canadian says Puerto Vallarta ‘calming down’

A Canadian traveller stranded in Puerto Vallarta says the situation appears calmer after a wave of cartel violence triggered fires and roadblocks across Mexico’s Jalisco state.

Artur Wilczynski told CTV’s News Channel Monday that “we just saw smoke in the distance from our balcony,” on Sunday before realizing “a good chunk of downtown Puerto Vallarta was covered in a black smoke.”

He said authorities have told visitors to shelter in place, adding he and his partner are following updates from Global Affairs Canada and their airline after their flight home was cancelled.

Despite the tension, Wilczynski said “it’s not as scary as some people online are making it out to be,” noting resort staff have been supportive.

As of this morning, he said the city is quieter with no “plumes of smoke,” visible, though travellers are still waiting for word on when roads and the airport will fully reopen.

Dorcas Marfo, CTVNews.ca journalist

Cartels don’t typically target tourists: Lewis

Public safety analyst Chris Lewis said those staying in Puerto Vallarta should refrain from venturing out and simply stay at their resorts.

“For those tourists from Canada or other places that are in hotels, they just have to do what they are told,” he told CTV News Channel on Monday.

He noted that “targeting tourists” is not in the “best interests of cartels.”

“They don’t commonly do that,” he added.

Codi Wilson, CP24.com journalist

‘Sky was black’: Canadian describes burning cars, gunfire

Canadian Dennis McKaig told CTV’s Your Morning he woke up Sunday morning to chaos as violence erupted in Puerto Vallarta.

He described hearing what he first thought were construction noises before realizing “the sky was black and there were cars burning about 300 feet from me and you could hear gunfire in the background.”

McKaig said police initially warned the situation was not over, with unrest flaring again later in the afternoon as security forces moved in.

At one point, he said he and others ran to safety after spotting “a gunman on a motorcycle coming down the street.”

By Monday morning, McKaig reported conditions had calmed, saying the streets were quiet but planned to venture out cautiously.

Dorcas Marfo, CTVNews.ca journalist

‘Don’t go to Mexico’: Ontario premier urges travellers

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is advising travellers to avoid Mexico during the turmoil, saying the country is “not stable right now.”

“Highly recommend: don’t go to Mexico. I highly recommended that before this happened... Just focus on getting home,” he said at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday.

Ford said he will work with the federal government to get any Ontarian that’s travelling and stuck in Mexico “out of there.”

“Don’t go there and maybe pick an island somewhere or here in Canada.”

Phil Tsekouras, CTVNewsToronto.ca and CP24.com journalist

Read the full story

‘It’s very safe’: Travellers at Toronto airport head to Tulum

Travellers boarding planes to Mexico this morning from Toronto Pearson International Airport say they feel safe heading to popular tourist destinations outside the western state of Jalisco, where cartel-related violence broke out on Sunday.

“Most of the issues I’ve heard about are on the west side of the country,” one traveller told CP24 at the airport on Monday morning.

“We are 2,400 kilometres away on the east side in Tulum. I was here five weeks ago. We’ve been there lots. It’s very safe, very friendly. It’s a great place to vacation. Love Mexico.”

Codi Wilson, CP24.com journalist

25 Mexican National Guard troops killed

Mexico Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch said Monday 25 members of the National Guard were killed in Jalisco in six separate attacks following the capture of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes.

Oseguera Cervantes died after his capture. Also killed were a prison guard, an agent from the state prosecutor’s office and a woman whom Garcia Harfuch did not identify. He said some 30 criminal suspects were killed in Jalisco.

Four more suspects were killed in Michoacan, he said.

The Associated Press

Read the full story

Who was El Mencho?

Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes was a feared Mexican drug lord and the leader of a ruthless cartel accused of masterminding efforts to push fentanyl into the United States.

Once a police officer, Oseguera went on to become one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, with the United States alone offering a US$15 million bounty for information leading to his arrest.

Oseguera, who formed and led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was an elusive figure who had been considered Mexico’s most powerful cartel boss since Sinaloa kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán was arrested last decade.

CNN

Read the full story

Canada ‘deeply alarmed’

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada is closely monitoring what she described as a “serious and rapidly evolving” security situation in Mexico’s Jalisco state, including in and around Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.

In a social media post on Sunday, Anand said the federal government is “deeply alarmed” by reports of violence and officials with Global Affairs Canada are in close contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadians in the region.

“The safety and security of Canadians abroad remains our highest priority and it is for this reason that we are issuing an updated travel advisory,” Anand said.

Tammy Ibrahimpoor, CTVNews.ca national digital producer