The U.S. late Sunday night in a security alert urged U.S. citizens in Puerto Vallarta in Mexico to 'shelter in place.'
While no airports were closed, roads to airports were blocked in Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara amid the violence and unrestYou’re watching the NBC 5 Chicago News streaming channel, which plays local Chicago news 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You can find the “NBC 5 Chicago News” streaming channel on your phone or computer, and on Peacock, Samsung, Roku, Xumo or on our app, so you can watch our local news on your schedule. The U.S. late Sunday night in a security alert urged U.S. citizens in Puerto Vallarta and other popular tourist destinations inChicagoan escapes terrifying attack as cartel gunmen open fire during Mexico unrest"Due to ongoing security operations & related road blockages & criminal activity, U.S. citizens in a number of locations in Mexico are urged to shelter in place, as U.S. government staff in several locations are doing and will continue to do on Feb 23,"."While no airports have been closed, roadblocks have impacted airline operations- most domestic & int’l flights are cancelled in Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta. All ride shares are suspended in Puerto Vallarta." The security message went on to say that Americans in Mexico should"seek shelter, minimize unnecessary movements," and advised them to keep family and friends on their well-being. Mexico: Update - Due to ongoing security operations & related road blockages & criminal activity, U.S. citizens in a number of locations in Mexico are urged to shelter in place, as U.S. government staff in several locations are doing and will continue to do on Feb 23. While no…Baja California state Sinola Areas of Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Estado de Mexico, Michoacan, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Zacatecas States In addition to travel warnings, school was canceled in several Mexican states, and flights from Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara coming into Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were delayed, NBC 5's Lisa Chavarria reported Monday morning.According to its website, American Airlines issued a travel alert for parts of Mexico, with fare waivers for flights between through Feb. 24. according to its website. VivaAerobus also issued a message on its website, saying road blockages wereOn Sunday, Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco state and Mexico’s second-largest city, was almost completely shut down as fearful residents stayed home. Passengers arriving to the city’s international airport Sunday night were told it was operating with limited personnel because of the burst of violence. Jacinta Murcia, a 64-year-old nutrition products vendor, was among those nervously walking late Sunday night through the airport, where earlier in the day travelers sprinted and ducked behind chairs fearing violence. Most flights into the city were suspended on Sunday. Murcia anxiously scrolled through news stories on social media showing the face of “El Mencho” and sent messages to her children, who were tracking her location as she tried to travel across the city to her house after dark. A Chicago resident recounted the terrifying moment cartel members fired gunshots toward him, his husband and multiple friends. Chris Hush reports. “My plan today leaving the airport is to see if there are any taxis, but I’m scared of everything. That there are blockades, that there’s a curfew, that something could happen,” she said. “I’m all alone.” Authorities in Jalisco, Michoacan and Guanajuato reported at least 14 other people killed Sunday, including seven National Guard troops. Videos circulating on social media showed tourists in Puerto Vallarta walking on the beach with smoke rising in the distance.“We better all go together,” one said. “Go with God.”Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho” was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against government officials who challenged it. He was killed during a shoot-out in his home state of Jalisco as the Mexican military attempted to capture him. Cartel members responded with violence across the country, blocking roads and setting fire to vehicles. urged calm and authorities announced late Sunday they had cleared most of the more than 250 cartel roadblocks across 20 states. The White House confirmed that the U.S. provided intelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico’s army for taking down a man who was one of the most wanted criminals in both countries. Mexico hoped the death of the world’s biggest fentanyl traffickers would ease Trump administration pressure to do more against the cartels, but many remained hunkered down and on edge as they waited to see the powerful cartel’s reaction. David Mora, Mexico analyst for International Crisis Group, said the capture and outburst of violence marks a point of inflection in Sheinbaum’s push to crack down on cartels and relieve U.S. pressures. The killing of “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, a drug cartel leader, triggered roadblocks and unrest across western Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded Mexico do more to fight the smuggling of the often-deadly drug fentanyl, threatening to U.S. Amb. Ron Johnson recognized the success of the Mexican armed forces and their sacrifice in a statement late Sunday. He added that “under the leadership of President Trump and President Sheinbaum, bilateral cooperation has reached unprecedented levels.” But it may also pave the way for more violence as rival criminal groups take advantage of the blow dealt to the CJNG, Mora said. “This might be a moment in which those other groups see that the cartel is weakened and want to seize the opportunity for them to expand control and to gain control over Cartel Jalisco in those states,” he said. “Ever since President Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico,” Mora said. “This is signaling to the U.S. that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it, we don’t need U.S. troops on Mexican soil.”Oseguera Cervantes, who was wounded in the operation to capture him Sunday in Tapalpa, Jalisco, about a two-hour drive southwest of Guadalajara, died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said via X that the U.S. government provided intelligence support for the operation. “‘El Mencho’ was a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland,” she wrote. She commended Mexico’s military for its work. The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The In February 2025, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization. Sheinbaum has criticized the “kingpin” strategy of previous administrations that took out cartel leaders, only to trigger explosions of violence as cartels fractured. While she has remained popular in Mexico, security is a persistent concern and since U.S. President Donald Trump took office a year ago, she has been under tremendous pressure to show results against drug trafficking. The Jalisco cartel has been one of the most aggressive cartels in its attacks on the military — including on helicopters — and is a . In 2020, it carried out a spectacular assassination attempt with grenades and high-powered rifles in the heart of Mexico City against the then head of the capital’s police force and now federal security secretary.
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