(Fremont County, WY) – On Sunday, February 22, national news emerged that Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, aka “El Mencho,” the known leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, had been killed by the Mexican Army in an operation conducted in Tapalpa, located in the Mexican state of Jalisco.
Cartel members responded to the operation by taking to the streets in the region, with reports of violent acts, looting, and vandalism. The resulting unrest led Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro to declare a “Codigo Rojo” or “Code Red,” and urge residents not to leave their homes. On February 23, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico also issued a security alert, urging all U.S. citizens “in specific locations in Mexico… to shelter in place.”
One of the areas affected by the unrest, Puerto Vallarta, a resort town on the Pacific coast in Jalisco, just so happened to be where Fremont County locals Dan and Janelle Hahn, and John and Lori Gabrielson were vacationing at the time. Both the Hahns and Gabrielsons shared their accounts with County 10, offering first-hand details of their experiences during the tumultuous time.
The Hahns
For the Hahns, Puerto Vallarta has been a regular vacation spot for “over 30 years,” and the Lander couple has been vacationing in various areas in Mexico for “45 years.”
Janelle shared that she and Dan were walking on the beach after breakfast on Sunday when the unrest began, and they started seeing “dark smoke in multiple areas.”
Footage of beach-goers reacting to the smoke in the distance. h/t Janelle Hahn video
Janelle said her and Dan’s first thought was, “Are they allowed to burn trash?”, but when they got back to the hotel, Janelle checked her phone and saw a Facebook post from a business owner they knew in the downtown area, and found out the fires were cartel-related.
“The hotel was putting plywood up on one of the entrances to secure entry points,” Janelle recounted. “Around 1 PM, the hotel staff told everyone to go to our rooms and shelter in place. A couple of hours later, people started to slowly venture out to see what was happening. There was crime tape shutting off the exit from the front entry, and no one was allowed near the ocean.”
Janelle went on to share that most of the information they have received about the operation and subsequent unrest has come from social media posts and their travel agent, Mitzie Hailey, who has “been in contact with us, keeping us informed to still stay in place, and checking to make sure we are ok,” Janelle said.
“I have a friend at home who contacted Harriet Hageman’s office with our information in case we needed to be evacuated,” Janelle added. “They responded within a half hour and let the US embassy and consulate in Guadalajara know who and where we are.”
When County 10 contacted Janelle yesterday, she said that at that time, the taxis still weren’t running, there was very little traffic on the streets, and they only saw one jet take off that morning.
“The businesses are closed and (there is) no school; this is devastating to the local economy,” Janelle commented. “A cruise ship came into port and turned around and left. The staff couldn’t go home last night and are all looking pretty tired trying to keep everything as normal as possible.”
“The citizens here are so very kind; they seem more frightened than the tourists,” Janelle added.
The Hahns are still hunkered down as of this writing, with an update from Dan’s Facebook page this morning, February 24, stating that there were “deliveries to the hotel finally,” as they were beginning to run out of supplies.
“…quiet for the most part. No more booms, hopefully,” Dan also stated in the post. “Pretty sure the Mexican people will pay for this foolishness for a long time. War zone in paradise. God help them. People are terrified. And a tremendous amount of damage down here. Life and property. They will feel the pain for years.”
Despite their current situation, Janelle said she and Dan are trying to remain in good spirits.
“(There is) no shortage on food yet… and at least the beer is cold!”
The Gabrielsons
John and Lori Gabrielson of Riverton are also frequent visitors to Puerto Vallarta, where John says they have visited “several times.”
“It is very peaceful and safe; the locals are so gracious and nice,” John told County 10.
Like the Hahns, John and Lori first saw the smoke before they had any idea of what was transpiring.
“We saw smog over the ocean, went to a rooftop to see if it was a wildfire, (and) saw the various columns of smoke, one very near where we were,” John recounted. “It was behind a high-rise, so we only saw the smoke, but (we were) told it was a bus. We then got on socials and saw (about) El Mencho and the cartel retaliating.”
As the situation continued, the Gabrielsons sheltered in place and adhered to the curfew, with John adding that restaurants, stores, bars, and markets were closing, and that no taxis or Uber rides were available.
John said the area was “desolate,” and reminded him and Lori of “COVID times in the states.”
John described that receiving initial news reports about the operation and the cartel response was a “shit show.”
“Most news came from Facebook, and there were 100 different conflicting reports. We got news from people there who had ventured out, (and) from watching American TV on YouTube TV.”
“We felt safe, but the lack of information, only social media, and all the false information that people spread is disheartening to the people in the middle of the situation,” Lori added.
“We were texting and Snapchatting family and friends; we were safe, never in danger,” John reiterated. “And we had a great network of American condo owners who we were visiting. They were gracious enough to feed about 20 of us that were not staying long and didn’t get a lot of groceries… they were incredible. …Many of the workers had to sleep at their resorts and many at the airport. The group that we were with also fed some of the condo employees.”
John also echoed the Hahn’s sentiments about the effects the unrest will have on the locals and the general area.
“I really think this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, but it’s going to hurt (Puerto Vallarta) economically for a while. (But) it probably will not hinder us from coming back, as our experiences here in the past have been so enjoyable.”
After doing their “own airport research,” the Gabrielsons were ultimately able to secure a ride to the airport and get on a flight back to Wyoming on Monday afternoon.
The Gabrielson’s son, a pilot, introduced John to the Flight Aware app, where he saw that a plane from Denver had taken off and was headed their direction. But they still needed to find a way to the airport, which proved difficult because public transportation had been ordered to shut down.
“A friend I know had a contact in Puerto Vallarta, and he got a friend with a van,” John explained. “He picked us and some others (up) at another condo and got us to the airport.”
Upon making it to the airport, John said TSA was “long and crowded,” but they were able to make it through.
While on the plane, John heard a family’s account of being on a boat ride excursion when the events unfolded on Sunday.
“The boat operator hadn’t heard of all the activity (until) returning, (and) decided it was too dangerous to port, so they slept on the boat that night,” John shared.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, the Gabrielsons wanted to reiterate that they were at no point personally in any immediate danger.
“We certainly don’t want to downplay the incident, as I’m sure it was terrifying for those close to any of the events, especially the local people that are going to be affected by this for quite a while, but as for us, we were not really in any danger, as we didn’t go out looking for it,” John shared. “We certainly understand the severity of the situation, but we’re fortunate to not be included and made it home safely.”
The Gabrielsons did have a few “thank yous” for those who helped them leave Puerto Vallarta safely.
“I just wanted to thank Dina and Gary, Marc, Barry, and our Puerto Vallarta Casa Corazon family for helping us, as well as Blake Coble from Pinedale and his connection to Gustavo and Fidel, who braved the streets to get us to the airport. And to United Airlines for being one of, if not the only carrier, that flew on Sunday, and also to our hometown airport, as we were able to fly right home and sleep in our own beds after a wild 36 hours we won’t soon forget.”
As for the current status of Jalisco, the most recent security update from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico, issued today, February 24, states the following:
Public transportation and businesses continue to return to normal operations following a law enforcement operation that took place on February 22. U.S. citizens are no longer urged to shelter in place.
U.S. government staff in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Puerto Vallarta (Jalisco/Nayarit), Ciudad Guzman (Jalisco), and Tijuana (Baja California) are subject to a curfew during nighttime hours. U.S. government staff in Jalisco State and Monterrey (Nuevo Leon) have been directed to remain inside their metropolitan areas.
Flight schedules have returned to normal in Guadalajara and many airlines have extra flights planned for today, February 24, in Puerto Vallarta. Both airports are secure and amenities are available.
If your direct flight to the United States is cancelled, you might consider booking a connecting flight through another Mexican or U.S. city.
We have no reports of road closures directed by local authorities, though some roads in Jalisco State (including between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta) are not yet fully reopened.
Click here for the full statement, which includes additional assistance resources and links.