N.B. residents under shelter-in-place order in Mexico as violence erupts
CBC
The balcony on Andy Wilson’s Puerto Vallarta condo overlooks Banderas Bay and the wider Pacific Ocean. But that view quickly changed on Sunday, filling with plumes of smoke and the sound of sirens echoing through the downtown.
Wilson and his wife, who are from Harvey Station, are in the epicentre of the violence that erupted over the weekend in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in the wake of a government announcement that the head of one of the country’s most powerful crime groups was dead.
The city is now under a “code red” with transportation coming to a complete halt, following reports of gunmen blocking highways and setting cars on fire in several cities.
Wilson has been sheltering in place at his fourth-floor condominium, with a bird's-eye view of the chaos below.
“We could see the plumes of smoke rising up from the other explosions, and then we heard some explosions and saw the columns of smoke rising up,” he said. “The military helicopters were up and down the coast, constantly flying low. And there were a couple of Navy boats out there too with guns.”
But Wilson said on Monday things in the resort calmed down considerably.
“It seems very, very quiet, almost eerily so because this is a busy place,” he said. “Normally there's lots of music, lots of traffic. Right now there's no traffic moving other than a bit of foot traffic.”
Flights to and from the region were cancelled on Sunday, with some turning around mid-flight. But Air Transat confirmed on Monday that all flights to and from Puerto Vallarta will resume on Tuesday.
Wilson had planned to move on to nearby Sayulita on Tuesday, but those plans are currently on hold. He said he’s hoping things will return to normal in time for their return flights home in a week.
There are more than 26,000 Canadians in Mexico right now. The federal government is urging everyone to register with Global Affairs Canada. Wilson said they have tried, but the website hasn’t been working.
Brian Caldwell, who lives in Moncton, has been in Puerto Vallarta with his partner since early January. He said he was out for a walk on Sunday morning when he started seeing black smoke in multiple locations, followed by either a gunshot or an explosion.
“And then I saw people running,” he said. “I didn't know what was happening, but I just knew that I needed to turn around and go back to the condo.”
Caldwell has been sheltering at his condominium ever since. He was planning to stay in Mexico until April and said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that things will improve quickly so they can keep those plans.
“But again, if things don't improve fairly quickly, then we will certainly reconsider that,” he said.
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