A vacationing Michigan couple has been sheltering in place in Mexico amid reports of violence and destruction following the death of drug kingpin Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera.
Scott Simons said things have been “surreal” but calm where he and his wife, Claudia, are staying in Zona Romántica, a neighborhood in the southern part of Puerto Vallarta. Other parts of the city have seen smoky skies resulting in flight cancelations, according to a Reuters report.
The couple from Grosse Ile have seen military helicopters flying overhead amid the chaos.
“It’s quite surreal trying to keep up with what’s going on and filtering out what news is real and what isn’t,” Simons said.
Simons explained that his hotel room TV is not connected to cable or local broadcast networks so he’s been monitoring the situation via the internet and through friends, including another couple who are staying a few miles south of Puerto Vallarta.
“(Sunday) morning I got texts from friends asking if I was OK,” said Simons, who is retired following a 26-year career with DTE. “It was really quiet the whole day until some military choppers flew over our building. Other than that, there’s been no traffic on the streets, no one walking around.”
Videos on social media showed panic at airports in Jalisco State, including in Puerto Vallarta, after Mexican military personnel captured and killed Oseguera on Sunday, setting off waves of retaliatory violence.
A U.S.-military-led task force specializing in intelligence collection on drug cartels played a role in the raid, a U.S. defense official told Reuters.
The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Mexico on Sunday advised Americans in Mexico to shelter in place “due to ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.” On Monday, the agency said “the situation has returned to normal,” in many parts of the country, through Puerto Vallarta was still experiencing flight disruptions.
Simons, 71, said he and Claudia, 68, a retired speech language pathologist who worked for Hamtramck Public Schools, have some food left and plenty of water, plus an ocean view from their hotel room.
“We haven’t been distressed,” he said. “We’re just concerned for the other people around the city and hoping that this is the end (of the violence).”
At least one flight out of Michigan to Puerto Vallarta was diverted to Alabama on Sunday due to the civil unrest. Air Canada and United Airlines also have canceled flights to the city, Reuters reported.
Simons said he and Claudia still expect to fly back to Michigan on Sunday, as they had originally planned, since the airport they’re flying out of has reopened.
Michigan Sens. Gary Peters and Alyssa Slotkin have advised any Michigan residents in Mexico to sign up for the U.S. Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). The service allows U.S. citizens and nationals to receive updated emergency information from the State Department.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
@max_detroitnews
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tourists from Michigan report ‘surreal’ scene amid violence in Mexico
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
