B.C. tourists in Mazatlán sought refuge in their rental homes and resorts on Friday from the violence erupting in the Mexican state of Sinaloa after the arrest of an alleged drug cartel leader.
Kelowna’s Pat Hayden said his first inkling that something was wrong was when the doorman of his hotel advised him Thursday to be careful as he ventured out in the popular resort town. “I noticed two black columns of smoke in hills nearby,” the 69-year-old told Postmedia News. “The doorman told me those were from cars bombed by grenades.”
Mexican forces captured Ovidio Guzman, a son of cartel boss Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman, in the early hours of Thursday, which prompted shootouts in the nearby city of Culiacan. Alleged cartel members were also setting vehicles ablaze.
Colleen Hennessy, who is travelling with a group in Mazatlán, came across burning vehicles that were used by drug cartels to blockade roadways to the beach Thursday.
“At first, we thought the smoke was from a car accident, but then we tried another road and saw another car on fire,” said the Nanaimo resident.
Travellers returned to their resorts and hunkered down there following a Canadian travel advisory that warned of “widespread violence and security operations” in the state of Sinaloa in Culiacan, Los Mochis, Guasave and Mazatlán.
The federal guidance suggested Canadians stay inside, avoid crowds and demonstrations, and not cross blockades, even if they appear unmanned.
Hayden said Canadian tourists behind the gates of the Hotel Riu Emerald Bay were glued to their phones late Thursday.
“It was all chatter — everyone was trying to share all the information we could get about what was going on.”
Travellers quickly learned that three state airports were closed Thursday as burning cars, gunfire and threats to essential infrastructure were reported in the affected areas. At least two passenger aircraft were hit by gunfire.
Campbell River’s Sabine Berry said Friday that some Emerald Bay guests who were scheduled to fly out got their hotel rooms back. “Some people slept in the lobby. The resort is understaffed because many [staff] couldn’t make it past the road blockades to get to work.”
By Friday afternoon, the Mazatlán and Culiacán airports reopened, but flight schedules had changed.
“It’s been calm here,” said Dominique Maraj, a Tsawwassen resident who was staying inside a Mazatlán condominium with her children.
“Police cleared public areas. There are just a couple of cars scurrying around to get last-minute supplies from corner stores.”
Hayden, who was scheduled to fly back to Canada on Friday night, is being put up by Sunwing Airlines until his flight is rebooked. “I plan to spend these extra couple days on the beach here, by the pool. … I read my only book already.”
Hennessy, who is sheltering at another Mazatlán hotel, tried to contact Swoop airlines to hop on the next flight home.
“We can’t get any information about our flight Saturday,” the traveller said Friday. “We will stay here and try to relax until we know more.”
Similar violence erupted in 2019, when an attempt to arrest Ovidio Guzman led Mexico’s president to order the military to let the alleged cartel leader go.
Vancouver’s Lia Hershkovipz, the travel agent behind Guide Me Away, said Friday she is continuing to book vacations in Mexico for British Columbians.
“We’ve been in business for six years and had no safety issues with any clients travelling within Mexico.” Hershkovipz said it’s a destination Canadians return to because of all-inclusive resorts, which ensure families remain busy with activities that cost nothing extra.
“I wouldn’t recommend going outside any resort at 2 a.m. in any country, but generally, Mexico is and has been a safe place to travel.”
The agent still recommend travel insurance for all of her clients, in case an emergency arises. “It ensures they can get home if their flight is cancelled.”
The fighting came days before President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was to host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden at a summit in Mexico City.
A spokeswoman from Trudeau’s office said his plan for the summit hadn’t changed.
Hailey Bronson said she expected to be heading home to Cochrane, Alta., as planned on Sunday, although a few of her friends had their flights rescheduled. She was staying in an apartment downtown and said it was strange to see the usually busy town of Mazatlán turn silent Thursday.
“I’ve never seen Mazatlán so quiet in my life,” Bronson said in a Friday message. “But today everything is back to normal.”
Winnipegger Sheila North, in Mazatlán with two adult children and her two-year-old grandson, was on a catamaran excursion when she saw plumes of smoke in two areas and black helicopters flying around Thursday.
“[The staff] wanted to create a sense of calm, but you could tell that they were being told stuff on their phones that something was going on,” North said in a phone interview. “So we stayed on the excursion until it was done and when we came back to the hotel, that’s when we saw long lineups.” People waited hours in line to get into the hotel restaurant, North said.
Some families were forced to sleep in the hotel lobby, while some staff members opted to stay overnight at work, she said.
North and her family were supposed to fly back to Winnipeg on Friday but said it has been changed to Sunday.
“There’s a general sense of uneasiness,” she said. “People are regrouping, but I can see that some parents are really stressed.”
>>> To comment on this article, write a letter to the editor: [email protected]
