Liz Templin, a retired University of Minnesota Extension educator, arrived in Puerto Vallarta in mid-January for her 12th trip to the Mexican resort community she considers a second home. Restaurants were mostly closed or unusually short on customers on Sunday morning, and Templin and her husband Mike Robertson hadn’t checked email or social media before sitting down toward noon at the popular but strangely empty Coco’s Kitchen, where a visibly frightened server showed them the news.
The Mexican government had killed the infamous boss of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel in a massive shoot-out that claimed the lives of some 25 soldiers. In retaliation, gangsters took to the streets to light vehicles and businesses on fire, carjack cars and buses, and cause mayhem across multiple states.
Within minutes, Coco’s Kitchen had shuttered, with restaurant staff planning on spending the night because they lived far away and streets were closing, said Templin, in a phone interview on Monday afternoon. The Stillwater couple, who are in their 70s, returned to their hotel, following orders by the U.S. State Department for Americans to shelter in place.
A couple they had dinner with the night before had rented a hotel room above a convenience store that was firebombed.
“Their unit is basically uninhabitable,” said Robertson, a former city manager in Isanti, Oak Park Heights, Otsego and North Oaks. “The hotel is full and had no rooms for them. Last we heard, they were going to lay down on the beach and wrap themselves in beach towels.”
Then came word that a man had been stepping out of the hotel’s front door when a motorcycle drove by. The driver reportedly motioned for him to go back inside before throwing an incendiary device into the nearby OXXO convenience store, setting it ablaze. Those behind the mayhem apparently took pains to avoid loss of life in tourist areas, even as they maximized fear and confusion.
Similar scenes played out for hours Sunday across the Mexican state of Jalisco and bordering communities. However, American travelers who had been told to shelter in place during the unrest reported signs of normalcy returning to Puerto Vallarta early Monday afternoon. Stores reopened even as flights from the U.S. remained canceled 24 hours after the killing of the cartel boss known as “El Mencho” by the Mexican government drew retaliatory street violence.
Locals and tourists live in the same area
Located about a 24-hour drive directly south of Los Angeles, the resort town and port community on Jalisco’s Pacific Coast has developed a reputation among U.S. travelers as a more low-key and family-friendly alternative to Cancun.
Its town-based economy and cultural vibe span street vendors who sell mementos year-round paying homage to famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and the Day of the Dead, and themed boat tours that host pirate shows by day and shoot fireworks that light up the bay at night.
“This is an area where the locals and the tourists live in the same area,” Robertson said. “It’s not like one of those U-shaped resorts designed to keep locals out. There’s an elementary school two blocks away. We’ve gotten to know locals, and the weather is near-perfect. It’s in the 80s every single day. A lot of the restaurants have great music at night. There’s craft classes that Liz likes to take.”
Many Americans have long considered Puerto Vallarta a safe and even idyllic destination, even as cartel violence has impacted neighboring states. Robertson acknowledged that the violence had pierced that sense of calm and given him some pause about returning.
“I was watching the hockey game and heard some bangs,” wrote Jay Baer, a Bloomington, Ind., man who owns vacation property in Puerto Vallarta and edits an online digest about tequilas, on Facebook on Sunday afternoon. “Went outside and saw smoke. More and more vehicles were burned, all around the bay. … Around two hours ago, it progressed to property fires. Gas stations and convenience stores, mostly.”
“The (convenience) store just down from my house was firebombed about noon,” Baer went on to write. “A taxi on our corner was also lit on fire… There are cartel members on motorcycles zipping around with guns, setting fires. Police and the army are pursuing, although mostly in the Versailles neighborhood, and near the airport. Very little vehicle traffic here … because all the roads in/out are blocked. There is a military troop ship circling in the ocean, in front of our house.”
By early Monday afternoon, Baer was pleased to report the atmosphere was “very calm today. Stores and shops are reopening. Streets are very deserted compared to usual. School is closed. All flights canceled. But things are slowly returning to normal. Hopefully nothing else happens today.”
Robertson ventured a walk near his hotel around noon Monday, and for the first time ever saw no swimmers at the pier. Police cars were visible, but soldiers were not, and there were no street vendors in the seaside promenade.
“This morning, two restaurants were open for takeout food,” Templin said. “They both have very long lines.”
Despite the unrest, Templin and Robertson — who were scheduled to return to Minnesota toward the end of this week — said they hoped to come back to Puerto Vallarta a year from now for their annual five-week vacation, provided both the U.S. State Department and their local contacts can vouch that things have returned to normal.
Templin said she gotten to know the family behind her favorite breakfast location and would keep in touch.
“I really hope tourists do come back, because so many businesses are based on that,” she said. “So many families, their whole life is based on that.”
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