A Whitecourt resident stuck in Puerto Vallarta amidst violent cartel demonstrations says the region felt like a war zone on Sunday.
On Feb. 22, violence erupted across the Puerto Vallarta region after a Mexican army raid led to the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, prompting roadblocks, car fires, shootouts and airport closures.
More than 26,000 Canadians in the region have registered with the federal government, many of which have been directed to shelter in place for the time being.
That includes Nancy and Conrad Johnson, a couple from Whitecourt who are visiting the area for the first time for a combined work trip and vacation.
On Saturday, once the work part of their trip concluded, the Johnsons moved to a boutique hotel in Zona Romántica. Then on Sunday, Nancy says, “everything went crazy,” and the couple spent the majority of the day confined to their room.
Johnson says she and her husband did leave their room once to look for exits and hiding places in the event of an emergency. Otherwise, they followed shelter-in-place orders and barricaded their door for the night.
“It was an exhausting day. I slept pretty good, but I think my husband didn’t sleep very good: he was still really worried about what would happen in the night,” she comments.
Johnson is looking at the bright side, however, and is feeling lucky that their unit includes a full kitchen, and they haven’t lost access to power or the internet.
“Everybody’s trying to help everybody,” she says. “Hopefully everybody’s heard from their loved ones that are down here, but at this point, I’m thinking each and every hour, each and every day, it’s getting safer and safer, so life should return back to normal soon.”
That being said, the pair is looking forward to returning home. They were scheduled to fly out this coming Saturday, but with international flights currently cancelled, they are waiting to see if that will be possible. If there is an opportunity to return earlier, Johnson says they’ll take it. Although she’s feeling optimistic about the state of things, Johnson says most of the corner stores in their area were firebombed, damaged and/or looted, and officials are still cleaning up the multitude of burnt cars and buses.
She says things feel calmer today, and Canadian officials say the situation is expected to normalize in the coming days.
Smoke is observed near a tourist resort in Puerto Vallarta on Feb. 22 during violent cartel demonstrations. (Nancy Johnson/Supplied)
With files from the Canadian Press.
