Puerto Vallarta, the Mexican paradise on fire after the death of drug kingpin

Understand wave of violence in Mexico after death of cartel leader Puerto Vallarta is known as a tourist paradise in Mexico. But, after the wave of violence triggered on Sunday (22) by the death of “El Mencho”, the resort in the Mexican Pacific began to resemble a war zone. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Dozens of vehicles were set on fire. Stores were vandalized. Residents and tourists say they are in shock. “It feels like we are in a war zone,” Javier Pérez, a 41-year-old engineer who lives in the city, told AFP. He was walking through the parking lot of a supermarket filled with burned-out cars. The violence was unleashed after the death of Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho”, head of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). The drug trafficker, considered one of the most wanted in Mexico, died in an Army operation on Sunday. The action provoked a criminal reaction in Jalisco, a state in the west of the country marked by massacres and clandestine graves. On Tuesday (24), the Secretariat of the Navy reported that it sent 103 infantry soldiers and trucks to reinforce security in Puerto Vallarta. Until then, the resort was seen as relatively preserved from the violence that affects other areas of Jalisco. The destination has been attracting tourists and residents from Canada and the United States for years, who spend the winter in the city. That changed on Sunday, when clouds of black smoke covered the sun. “We had no idea what was happening. We saw that a bus was burning, that a car was burning and then we saw black smoke all over the city from our window”, reports Farah Saunders, a 53-year-old Canadian retiree. According to authorities, members of the El Mancho cartel blocked roads, set vehicles on fire and attacked gas stations, businesses and banks. There were clashes with security forces in 20 of the country’s 32 states. The mayor of Puerto Vallarta, Luis Ernesto Munguía, reported that more than 200 vehicles were burned and around 40 establishments were vandalized. During the disturbances, 23 inmates escaped from the local prison after criminals broke down the unit’s gate. The sky, darkened by smoke from burning vehicles, was visible from Saunders’ suite in a luxury hotel on Puerto Vallarta’s main strip. This Tuesday (24), remains of a burned bus were still on the street. Shops and shopping centers on the main avenue remained closed, according to AFP. Saunders and her husband, who came from the province of Alberta, Canada, were scheduled to return to the country on Monday. But they remain in the city after the cancellation of flights by Canadian and American companies. “We were very scared. We’ve never experienced anything like this in Canada,” she said. According to the Canadian, around 20 thousand compatriots live in Puerto Vallarta. ‘War zone’ Aerial view of firefighters cleaning a street in Puerto Vallarta, state of Jalisco, Mexico, on February 24, 2026 Alfredo Estrella/AFP About 12 kilometers from the hotel zone, in the Fluvial Vallarta neighborhood, residents walked through the parking lot of a wholesaler hit by the attacks. Around 40 customer and supplier vehicles were set on fire at the scene. “Unfortunately it happened in our port, which is a beautiful place,” said Javier Pérez, a resident of the city for 16 years. He questions whether the government could have warned the population about the risk of attacks. In other areas, traders suffered total losses. In the La Vena neighborhood, a motorcycle store was consumed by fire. Saíd Díaz, 20 years old, had bought a motorcycle there ten days ago. Now just look at the rubble. “When I came, I was amazed at everything there was. Now there is nothing,” said the young man, who works in a hotel frequented by foreigners. “Vallarta has a very bad image. I work in a condominium and now many are leaving,” he said, worried about the impact of violence on tourism and employment. Bus was set on fire in a tourist area of ​​Puerto Vallarta, on February 22, 2026, after the death of El Mencho REUTERS/Stringer VIDEOS: most watched on g1

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