The notion that Mexico, with all its open corruption and drug cartel activity, was a safe location for tourists, has quite literally gone up in smoke.

Mexican forces took out a cartel leader on Sunday, and one known well to the United States.

On Sunday, Mexican troops reportedly conducted operations in Tapalpa, Jalisco, targeting Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, a former police officer who became the elusive leader of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), a major supplier of fentanyl to the United States.

Known as “El Mencho,” Oseguera Cervantes carried a $15 million U.S. bounty and rose to power following the arrest of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa Cartel. Over the past 15 years, CJNG has grown from a local criminal group into a global trafficking organization operating out of its stronghold in Jalisco.

CJNG was designated as a foreign terrorist organization in 2025 by the Trump administration. Also included in that same FTO declaration were Tren de Aragua and MS-13. CJNG was also heavily involved in getting illegal aliens across the border while it was porous during the Biden administration, and the former Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, benefited heavily from letting the drug cartels run the country. Mexico has been a mess for a long time, and the Trump administration has pushed for prosecutions, but rarely got cooperation.

Something must have changed, or the opportunity was simply too good to pass up, because Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the United States provided Mexico with intelligence, and applauded the takedown of “El Mencho.”

The United States provided intelligence support to the Mexican government in order to assist with an operation in Talpalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, in which Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes, an infamous drug lord and leader within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was eliminated.… https://t.co/iKxsAMmnLN

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 23, 2026

The full post reads:

The United States provided intelligence support to the Mexican government in order to assist with an operation in Talpalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, in which Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Oseguera Cervantes, an infamous drug lord and leader within the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was eliminated. ‘El Mencho’ was a was a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland. Last year, President Trump rightfully designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization — because that’s exactly what it is. In this operation, three additional cartel members were killed, three were wounded, and two were arrested.

President Trump has been very clear — the United States will ensure narcoterrorists sending deadly drugs to our homeland are forced to face the wrath of justice they have long deserved.

The Trump Administration also commends and thanks the Mexican military for their cooperation and successful execution of this operation.

Within hours of the news of “El Mencho” being eliminated, the cartels were retaliating. The focus of the violence was initially on the tourist resort town of Puerto Vallarta.

Mexican officials said cartel thugs began setting blazes throughout Jalisco to block federal forces during the raid, the Spanish-language news outlet El Universal reported.

The chaos has hotels in the Pacific Ocean vacation spot of Puerto Vallarta holed up inside their hotels as cars and barricades burn in the streets.

As panic spread throughout the region, reports surfaced of gunfire at Guadalajara International Airport — with one video posted online showing what appear to be passengers running for shelter.

In a statement later in the day, the Pacific Airport Group said the Mexican National Guard had been dispatched to the bustling airport but maintained it was operating as usual.

The violence has paralyzed a hugely populated swath of Mexico.

Puerto Vallarta is the country’s fourth-largest tourism destination, while Guadalajara’s airport is the country’s third-busiest with 18.7 million travelers every year.

But it wasn’t just Puerto Vallarta – the chaos and destruction spread northward to the California border, and even to Mexico’s eastern coast.

The State Department, which had initially issued a “shelter in place” order for the Puerto Vallarta area, ended up updating it to cover nearly the entire country, which speaks volumes about the reach of the drug cartels. But the long and the short of it is that tourists are currently trapped in Mexico.

Carnage spread up the west coast of the country through Sunday, with reports of attacks getting closer to the States in Baja California while gunfire erupted at Guadalajara International Airport.

Cars and businesses were also set on fire further across the country in Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cancun on the east side.

Among those trapped in Puerto Vallarta was Katy Holloman, who had been on the way to the airport when she was suddenly told to stay at the hotel.

The make up artist from El Dorado Hills said: “We were told to shelter in place right now, we need to stay in the hotel, it was safer here, but it is not safe to travel 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.

“Just going to pray we make it home tomorrow. This is unprecedented here, the hotel staff have been saying this has never happened before.”

🇲🇽 Puerto Vallarta On Fire CJNG VS. Mexican Forces.

Costco, multiple buildings are burning across Puerto Vallarta as clashes rage between federal troops & CJNG cartel members. Smoke billows over the city, flights are diverted, & tourists are sheltering in hotels. pic.twitter.com/opkvlU3xLK

— Peter De Livinrok (@peterdelivinrok) February 23, 2026

But leave it to the Canadians to focus on the REAL victims in this crisis.

Many Canadians, especially members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, are in Puerto Vallarta, where violence has quickly escalated. A shelter-in-place order is in effect.

Please stay vigilant and consult the Government of Canada travel advisories for Mexico: https://t.co/3OYCPgpZ7k

— Heather McPherson (@HMcPhersonNDP) February 22, 2026

Call me crazy, but I don’t think that the CJNG cartel cares who someone slept with while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta. I also don’t think they care who gets caught in their crossfire while they shoot it out with Mexican armed forces. CJNG is as well armed as any standing military, and if Mexico is finally ready to take on the cartels and start cleaning up their country, so much the better. However, tourists need to stop pretending that these resorts are little safe oases where nothing bad ever happens. If the violence currently sweeping through Puerto Vallarta, and other areas, finally convinces tourists to not spend their money in Mexico, then maybe the Mexican government will finally stop pretending that letting cartels run the country is fine.

Featured image via CarlosAlcazar on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license