Chaos spread to popular Mexican travel destinations after the military killed cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, in a major operation in Jalisco. American visitors found themselves stranded as violence broke out.

Kitty Sinatro, a traveller from Sacramento, said she and her husband were at a restaurant in Puerto Vallarta when they saw smoke rising and noticed businesses locking down.  Canadian traveller Sean Leighton, staying near the city’s port, talk say he see as one Jeep explode and a mattress store was swallowed up in flames. Other tourists, like Joanne Vaccaro, 71, found themselves unable to leave towns like San Pancho because of road closures and violence. Some visitors described the sudden disorder as heartbreaking. A Canadian content creator in Puerto Vallarta said the usually calm town “looked like it was an absolute war zone,” with fires everywhere and an atmosphere wey nobody dey expect for beach holiday.

 For tourists who came for sunshine and relaxation, the memory of smoke, explosions, and being told to barricade themselves indoors will shape how they remember Mexico’s beauty and its unexpected fragility.