Shocking videos have shown the moment panic rips through a Mexican airport as terrified tourists scramble across the terminal fearing a cartel attack.
Travelers are seen sprinting away from suspected cartel attacks in the duty-free area of Guadalajara International Airport in Jalisco state after plumes of smoke were seen rising from blazing vehicles outside.
Violence has reached new heights across the city of Guadalajara in the south east of Mexico in revenge for the killing of Jalisco cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ in a US-backed military raid on Sunday.
Brutal attacks have spread across 20 states as the drug gang takes merciless vengeance. At least 14 people have been killed across Mexico.
Gunfire erupted at Guadalajara International Airport as tourists took cover behind chairs and tumbled over suitcases.
An American tourist, Katy Holloman, from El Dorado Hills, took to Facebook to speak of her ordeal after she was told to shelter in her hotel as it was safer than attempting a journey to the airport.
‘The road is closed due to the cartel. There’s no flights going out of the airport to the States. We’ve rescheduled them for tomorrow afternoon, really hoping we make it home,’ she said in a video.
‘Just going to pray we make it home tomorrow. This is unprecedented here; the hotel staff have been saying this has never happened before.’
Tourists ran for cover at Guadalajara International Airport in Jalisco after smoke from burning vehicles outside sent panic through the terminal over fears of cartel attacks
Hundreds of tourists were seen fleeing the airport and diving for cover
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel has ramped up massive violence across Mexico as revenge for the killing of their leader El Mencho, real name Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, on Sunday in a military operation
Elsewhere in the city, another American tourist, Dan Smith from Palm Springs, had to evacuate his building which stood among burning buses and other vehicles blocking roads. He said in a video clip: ‘We’re evacuating the building, propane tanks have exploded. Hoping the building doesn’t catch on fire.’
His brother Richard was posting videos for Dan. He wrote on X: ‘Please keep good thoughts for my brother Daniel. Puerto Vallarta is under siege. He is stuck downtown, and all roads in and out are closed off. He can’t get home.
‘Luckily, there are some friends downtown where he can hang out. Although it’s been evacuated once already. The drug cartel is p***** off.’
El Mencho, real name Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 59, was Mexico’s most wanted man and leader and founder of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) since 2009.
He died in custody after being captured by Mexican special forces following a gunfight between his bodyguards and military commandos which left him seriously injured.
His men were armed with heat-seeking grenade launchers capable of piercing tank armor which were seized at the scene.
Following the battle, the drug lord died while he was being transported to the captial Mexico City from the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, just south of Guadalajara in the Sierra Madre mountains.
At least six cartel men were killed in the operation while three soldiers were injured, the defence ministry said.
Tourists were trapped in the airport as gunfire rang out
Hundreds of tourists were seen fleeing the airport
Chaos ran through the airport
Tourists fled the airport
Firefighters work to extinguish flames from buses set on fire by in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
Smoke billows from burning vehicles Cartel members have set alight to block roads in Puerto Vallarta
Americans in the country have been advised to ‘shelter in place’ by the United States Embassy in Mexico. The UK Foreign Office echoed the advice to British tourists.
Cartel members have been blocking roads across the country by commandeering buses and other vehicles and torching them in the street or by throwing spikes and nails down.
They have also targeted banks and local businesses like pharmacies, burning the storefronts.
Guadalajara has been a hotbed of violence and is host city for four FIFA World Cup group games this summer. Clips of Mexican forces exchanging fire with cartel members have also been shared on X and Instagram.
Nearby Puerto Vallarta, in the Jalisco coastal area, has also seen vehicles set ablaze and armed thugs on motorcycles and the sounds of their gunfire.
Cervantes was the head of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels that plays a key role in trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl to the US.
The kingpin’s death could move Mexico further towards Trump’s patronage after his previous threats of tariffs or unilateral military action if Mexico does not show results in the fight against the cartels.
On Sunday morning, Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro announced on X: ‘Federal forces carried out an operation in Tapalpa a few hours ago, which has led to confrontations in the area.
Army soldiers patrol guard the National Palace
Videos of shootouts between Cartel members and Mexican forces have been posted online
‘Also, as a result of this operation, in various points of that region and in other parts of Jalisco, individuals have burned and blocked vehicles to hinder the action of the authorities.
‘I have given the instruction to immediately set up the security committee with authorities from all three levels of government and to activate the red code in order to prevent acts against the population.’
Cervantes was originally from the western state of Michoacan and began the CJNG around 2009 which quickly became Mexico’s fastest-growing cartel.
He was tried in the US for trafficking heroin in 1994 and jailed for three years, but quickly got back into the drugs business on his return to Mexico.
The CJNG was responsible for trafficking cocaine, methamphetamines, fentanyl, and migrants to the United States and were innovators in violent crime, using drones and improvised explosive devices and the internet for its aggressive recruitment schemes.
It battled the Mexican army, even taking on helicopters with drones and in 2020, it assassinated the head of Mexico City’s police force using grenades and high-powered rifles.
The organisation was designated a foreign terrorist organisation by Trump last year.
It is not clear that Cervantes will have a successor, or if any on person can. The cartel has presence in 21 of Mexico’s 32 states and is active in nearly all of the US, the US Drug Enforcement Administration said.
El Mencho’s death may slow the crime gang’s rapid growth, but it also could send ripples across the world as a global crime syndicate.
