Tourists trapped in Puerto Vallarta recount cartel retaliation after El Mencho killed

Following the reported sidesplitting of large cartel person Nemesio Oseguera, known arsenic El Mencho, aggregate American tourists vacationing successful Puerto Vallarta told Fox News Digital they unexpectedly recovered themselves successful the mediate of a convulsive cartel retaliation.

As airlines canceled flights and authorities issued shelter-in-place orders, stranded visitors reported cars acceptable ablaze, suspected cartel members blocking large roads, and stores ransacked by looters — scenes immoderate witnesses said made parts of the fashionable edifice metropolis consciousness similar "a warfare breaking retired successful the streets."

Witnesses said they were forced to evacuate their rooms, negociate with constricted edifice food, and adjacent task extracurricular successful hunt of meals portion waiting for Mexican authorities to regain power of the city.

Staying astatine an Airbnb adjacent a main road, Eugene Marchenko, 37, of Charleston, South Carolina, told Fox News Digital helium woke up to blaring horns and saw six cars wholly engulfed successful flames conscionable extracurricular his balcony. He and his wife, who had arrived successful Mexico lone a time earlier, were forced to evacuate for respective hours, fearing that a adjacent substance tanker, besides ablaze, could explode.

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"I looked down and they're wholly engulfed successful flames," Marchenko said. "It was six cars successful full that burned and 1 substance tanker." 

He said helium watched a neighbor’s video showing men helium believed to beryllium cartel members forcing radical retired of their vehicles, past pouring gasoline and mounting the cars connected fire.

"They told the radical to leave," Marchenko said. "Then they were taking the state and pouring the state connected the conveyance and waiting until everybody was wide earlier they were mounting it connected fire."

Later successful the afternoon, Marchenko ventured retired to find nutrient and said helium saw pharmacies and country stores wholly burned down, adding that younger crowds had breached into adjacent buildings to loot brew and cigarettes.

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Vehicles look to transportation aggregate equipped forces successful Puerto Vallarta. (Fox News Digital)

Videos obtained by Fox News Digital amusement a chopper hovering supra his building, circling arsenic if searching for someone, portion Mexican equipped forces and armored vehicles moved done the streets below.

Public proscription and Ubers had travel to a implicit halt, Marchenko added, saying that adjacent if flights resume, helium is unsure however they would scope the airport. 

Despite the chaos, Marchenko noted that nary 1 appeared to panic. 

"There's decidedly not immoderate panic from astir cipher here," helium said. "I deliberation it's interesting, astir everybody was conscionable annoyed much than anything."

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A plume of fume rises successful Puerto Vallarta connected Feb. 22, 2026. (Fox News Digital)

Adriana Belli, 49, different visitant from Miami, told Fox News Digital that she had planned to walk implicit a week successful Mexico to be a wedding successful Guadalajara and observe a friend’s day successful Mexico City.

Belli said the abrupt outbreak of unit was particularly shocking, noting that she had spoken with American tourists staying astatine her Marriott edifice who insisted the country was highly harmless aft visiting Puerto Vallarta for 24 years.

She added that guests who had gone to the airdrome were nether lockdown and were managing with the constricted nutrient available.

"A batch of the different tourists who had aboriginal greeting flights were really capable to get to the airport, but they are present locked down successful the airdrome and incapable to leave," she said. "So what we heard from different guests is they are conscionable benignant of surviving disconnected of granola bars." 

A substance tanker was acceptable ablaze adjacent a state presumption successful Puerto Vallarta connected Feb. 22, 2026. (Fox News Digital)

Another root staying astatine a abstracted edifice told Fox News Digital that restaurants and country work had been unopen down. Guests were brought to the lobby for what was described arsenic "the past spot of food."

He added that this was the archetypal travel wherever helium and his woman were distant from their 4-year-old son, and that helium had to telephone location to archer household members wherever to find their will.

"This is the archetypal clip we've ever been distant from him. My woman was saying, ‘We're ne'er leaving him again,’" helium said. "I had to telephone my ma contiguous and, you know, conscionable archer her, ‘Look, here's wherever my volition is. We conscionable created this. I don't privation you to panic, but I whitethorn request you to enactment a mates days other with my son.’"

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He added that, contempt the country appearing similar a warfare zone, helium is remaining optimistic that the authorities volition reconstruct bid successful the coming days.

Mexico’s Defense Department said Sunday that Oseguera was killed successful a subject operation. The quality reportedly triggered wide unrest and uncertainty crossed aggregate states arsenic Mexican authorities worked to stabilize the region.