Canadians in Mexican state ordered to shelter in place as violence erupts

HALIFAX – Canadians in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, are being ordered to shelter in place as violence escalates in the region.

Mexican government officials are warning residents that Jalisco State, including popular tourist destination Puerto Vallarta, is not safe for travel at the moment. 

Global Affairs Canada issued a warning to people in the area that criminal groups have set up roadblocks with burning vehicles throughout the state. The agency says there are just under 19,000 Canadians in Mexico at the moment, including nearly 5,000 in Jalisco State. However, they note those numbers are estimates, as they come from a voluntary registry of Canadians abroad. 

Melanie Osmack was with her children at a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta’s Romantic Zone Sunday morning, watching the Olympic men’s gold-medal hockey game when she first saw the smoke. 

“It was very visible, very black sky and you could smell it,” Osmack said. Videos circulating on social media appear to show plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky at several different sites, stemming from the burning vehicles.

That’s when people at the restaurant started getting messages and alerts to return to their hotels or residences, and shelter inside. 

“Some people couldn’t even get back to where they were staying because the roads were closed,” Osmack said. Global Affairs Canada says all taxi and ride-share services in the area are currently suspended. 

Osmack has a condo on the beach where she and her family have been safely sheltered. She says they’ve been visiting the area from Vancouver yearly for close to 30 years, and never experienced anything like this. 

“It’s very unsettling.” 

Karen Mackenzie calls the empty streets “eerie.” 

“We’re so used to cars and buses going by,” Mackenzie said of her condo in the marina neighbourhood of Puerto Vallarta. “Now, it’s so quiet. I can look out onto the marina and usually there are so many people, and now there’s no one.” 

Mackenzie says this morning there appeared to be a bus burning on the street in front of her condo building, and earlier in the day a military van with armed personnel came through the streets. Since then, Mackenzie says things in the vicinity have appeared to calm down slightly. 

The federal government says there have also been shootouts and explosions, though it’s not yet clear if there are any injuries. Global Affairs Canada is advising Canadians in the area to keep a low profile and shelter in place, and monitor local and international media to stay informed. 

In a post on social media, Pablo Lemus Navarro, the governor of Jalisco, said that federal forces conducted a raid in Tapalpa, a town about 400 kilometres inland of Puerto Vallarta, Sunday morning. 

That raid, Navarro wrote, led to “confrontations” across the state. 

The Associated Press is reporting that the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, was killed in that raid. 

The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.

The Puerto Vallarta airport has shut down. 

WestJet, Air Canada, Flair, Air Transat and Porter Airlines have all cancelled or diverted flights to the area. 

In a statement, WestJet said they have diverted seven flights en route to Puerto Vallarta and cancelled 24 flights to and from the city, as well nearby Guadalajara and Manzanillo.

“As conditions evolve, additional cancellations may be required to ensure the safety of everyone,” the statement read. 

Air Transat said in a statement that its Sunday flights had been rescheduled to Monday, adding it is closely monitoring the situation and will provide updates.

Osmack says her two children were scheduled to fly back to Vancouver Sunday, but they have already been rebooked for flights later this week. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2026.