Top cartel boss killed as violence engulfs Puerto Vallarta and several states, Mexico says

Hello, I'm Linda Ward. Welcome inside the CBC Newsroom. We begin with breaking news on a wave of violence erupting in Mexico. Ottawa is asking all Canadians in Puerto Vallarta to shelter in place following clashes between

federal authorities and criminal groups. The violence was sparked by the killing of a powerful drug cartel leader. Puerto Vallarta's international airport has been affected. Canadian airlines cancelling all flights into the city, with some planes even turning around mid-flight.

Global Affairs estimates almost 19,000 Canadians are registered as being in Mexico, including over 4,500 in Jalisco State. Ottawa says it is continuing to closely watch the rapidly evolving security situation for Canadians. In a statement, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says, 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. She says global affairs officials are in close contact with local authorities and partners and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadians in the region. For more on this volatile situation that's unfolding right now, we're joined by journalist Katie Silver

in Mexico City. Katie, certainly a very, a situation that's very much in flux. Can you tell us a little bit about what started all this and the killing of this cartel leader?

Yes, so it began early this morning. Police, the military army in fact, targeted Nemesio Oscara, known as El Mencho, which is the drug king, the leader of this group, this Jalisco New Generation cartel. We understand it happened in early hours of this morning. It was an operation initially to recover him, but we understand that what ensued was shooting. Residents, for example, nearby, described the sounds of this shooting. He was then airlifted, injured we understand, brought here towards Mexico City, but actually died on the way.

He's among seven people that died, we understand, as well. Police injured, as well as others remain injured in hospital as well. This is what one resident had to say, what they could hear as the shooting occurred.

We started hearing a series of really loud booms and also what sounded like gunshots, and it turned out both were true.

Very surreal in that there was constant explosion, constant siren sounds, but...

And we also understand that the US was involved in terms of intelligence gathering. We heard, for example, from the Mexican embassy in Washington posting on X. They said that in addition to central military intelligence efforts, complementary information was provided by US authorities within the framework of bilateral coordination and cooperation with the United States.

Now, in terms of how the situation is on the ground, we understand as well that we've already seen violence from the cartels in retribution, particularly when it comes to burning out cars, seen as a way, for example, of blocking roads and preventing further military operation.

We're also hearing about the sound of gunshots as well. And the U.S. Embassy, for its part, warning citizens to shelter in place as far away as Cancun, which is the other side of the country. So this does seem to be, indeed, a very volatile situation and something that has been spreading across Mexico this afternoon.

And Katie, what is the Jalisco cartel? How much of a danger do they pose?

They're very significant. They started back in 2009. Earlier this year, President Trump declared them as a terrorist organization. They are seen as performing spectacular attacks with drones, rockets, grenades. Just back in, for example, in 2020, they performed a very significant attack

here in the capital city, trying to bring down the head of police of the state. A very significant operation. We understand as well, a $15 million reward was placed on the head of El Mencho by the US authorities, about $20 million reward

from the Mexican government as well. So it has been seen as a very significant group responsible for trafficking huge quantities of drugs into the US, including fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.

Katie, how are people there feeling about all of this and what might come next?

I'd say there's really a feeling of trepidation. We've already seen, for example, people taking to the streets as far away as Sinaloa, warning about the potential dangers of this. We've heard as well from Mexico's leader, Claudia Scheinbaum, previously saying that these attacks on the heads of cartels can sometimes then lead to more fractured groups and that can therefore exacerbate violence further.

So there's a lot of fear, a lot of trepidation. And really, as I say, great quantities of people across the country having to shelter in place, not leave their homes as well. The tourist city of Puerto Vallarta, Fritz Park, for example, all ride hailing completely ceased. So there is certainly a sense of fear

really here at the moment.

Katie, thanks very much for your reporting on this. That's journalist Katie Silver in Mexico City. We now have Nancy Sutton joining us. We've reached her vacationing just north of Puerto Vallarta. Nancy, we know you're from Canada. They are currently locked down.

What's going through your mind right now?

Well, it came out as quite as a shock. We were all Canadians in a pub of, oh, two, three hundred people, and we were about to take a bus about an hour north here to visit friends in San Pancho. And as we got down to near the highway, we noticed a bit of disruption, but it wasn't until we got on the little bus, this lovely Mexican bus driver said to us, and he grabbed our phone to talk,

Google Translate and said, turn around, go home. So we got off the bus and crossed the street and we made our ways back to our condo, our hotel area. And it was kind of scary because there was no way to get back. I can't tell you how many Mexicans stopped and said to us, danger, danger, go back, go back, and grabbed their phones telling us to get out of the area because we were right

on the highway where we've heard there is still some cars burning there.

Well thank goodness for those Mexicans telling you through Google Translate what you needed to do. What are you hearing now about how safe you are where you are?

Well it's normally a very safe area. My husband and I have been coming down here for years and we're with friends that have been here for 10 years. And my heart goes out to the people that work here and the restaurants because they're all incredibly kind and helpful people normally. And they have assured us nothing like this has ever, ever happened to them. And we're just getting a little bit nervous just because we can

see the smoke and out our patio window here, it's normally a very, very busy street like a White's Avenue in Edmonton or Eglinton Avenue in Toronto. And I haven't heard or seen a car in about 10 minutes. My goodness and and this all came upon you so suddenly. Have you had a chance to think about you know your plan what you're gonna do? Are you gonna stay where you are?

Are you gonna move elsewhere? Are you gonna you know have you heard anything about you know any plans to get back to Canada which we know right now we're hearing about flights being cancelled? Well, that's certainly a bit of a concern now. My husband and I just retired, so we had planned to be here till mid-March. So we, I think we have to get our heads around that. Right now, as you can appreciate, all the grocery stores are closed, all the restaurants are closed, they've sent all

their staff home. So we're just kind of getting our heads around that do we have enough food in our refrigerator, enough water, and we have registered with the government, the federal government, and we're just hoping the best. The other comment I want to say is there's a statistic here in Nouveau-Briart, which is a very new safe area.

We walk the streets and they say that it's 87% Canadians in this area. And in the condo that we're staying at, I've only met one American couple. Everyone is Canadian from across the country.

So many Canadians in Mexico right now and I guess a lot of the questions that you have there about your next steps have to do with how long this is going to go on for. Has anybody who lives there given you any indication of what they expect in terms of how long this might last? No, I think one of the, we just heard my girlfriend and her husband just had lunch before the restaurant closed down and they were just so apologetic

and said nothing like this has ever happened. So in this area, this is all uncharted waters and no one seems to understand what could possibly be next. Well, we are glad that you're safe, Nancy. Not what you expected for your vacation, I'm sure. But please stay safe and stay in touch with us as you can.

Will do.

Thank you. Thank you. Nancy Sutton, currently on vacation in Mexico, just north of Puerto Vallarta.