PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — Clashes continued across Mexico after the killing of cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera-Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” by the Mexican military. The attack, which took place in Tapalpa, left more than 70 people dead and has sparked a wave of cartel violence across the country including in the tourist town of Puerto Vallarta.

News10NBC spoke with Rochester natives affected by the unrest. Nick Rogers, originally from the Rochester area, has lived in Puerto Vallarta since 2022. Despite the violence, he said, “I feel like they are not out to get me. They’re just out to send a message.”

Rogers described the situation, saying it began with random fires. “There’s reports of 69 fires,” Rogers said. “The cartel, they weren’t targeting people. They were targeting traffic patterns…stopping cars, getting people out, and then setting the cars on fire or setting a bus on fire in strategic intersections all throughout the city.”

Donald Swartz, who owns property in Puerto Vallarta, shared his experience of being on a plane to the city when it had to turn around. “The captain came on and said, you know, we’re turning back to the States. There’s some civil unrest currently going on in Puerto Vallarta,” Swartz said. Swartz is now staying with family in Miami before figuring out how to get back to Puerto Vallarta.

In the face of unrest, Rogers noted the community’s resilience. “Some people have internet, some people don’t. They’re like, come here, you know, what do you need?” Rogers said. “Everybody’s exchanging that stuff and giving it to each other, openly and freely and without cost.”

The Mexican military has continued to fight cartel gunmen following El Mencho’s death.

According to their websites, American Airlines, United, Delta, and Southwest have flights leaving for Puerto Vallarta as early as tomorrow. JetBlue does not have any flights listed until Thursday.

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