Horrific scenes of chaos at Mexican airports: people flee in panic, trying to escape

Footage of terrified travelers and workers running for cover at Guadalajara International Airport in Mexico hit social networks after the airport was attacked by the dominant local drug cartel. Puerto Vallarta International Airport said that all international and most national flights were cancelled. The attack was in response to the death of Nemesio Asaguera Cervantes, the leader of Jalisco New Generation cartel. The New York Times reported the drug boss, known by his nickname, El Mencho, was killed by the Mexican government, along with at least six other cartel members on Sunday. Vicegrad24 on X posted clips of the airport chaos that followed soon after. One clip showed airport employees and passengers scrambling for safety as others crouched behind desks and chairs, with a few men running while holding hands or carrying small children. Jalisco Governor Pablo Limas Navarro activated a code red, which is a protocol for a state of emergency or security crisis, in response to the clashes. In a post on X, he said public transportation was suspended across Jalisco and urged people in the area to remain in their homes until the situation was under control. Videos circulating on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the city of Puerto Vallarta, a major city in Jalisco, and sprinting through the airport of the state's capital in panic. They are burning buses, they're shutting down roads, not only in Jalisco, but Michoacan, Colima, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, and then also Aguas Calientes, Vigil said. And what they're trying to do is show that they are still a force to be reckoned with, that this was not a lethal blow to them. The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, El Mencho, on Sunday, decapitating what had become Mexico's most powerful cartel and giving the government its biggest prize yet to show the Trump administration for its efforts. According to Associated Press Oseguera Cervantes was wounded in an operation to capture him Sunday in Tepalpa, Jalisco about two hours drive southwest of Guadalajara Sunday and died while being flown to Mexico City, the Defense Department said in a statement. The state is the base of the cartel known for trafficking huge quantities of fentanyl and other drugs to the United States. During the operation, troops came under fire and killed four people at the location. Three more people, including Oseguera Cervantes, were wounded and later died, the statement said. Two others were arrested and armored vehicles, rocket launchers and other arms were seized. Three members of the armed forces were wounded and receiving medical treatment. Video circulating social media showed plumes of smoke billowing over the tourist city of Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco, and people sprinting through the airport of the state's capital in panic. On Sunday afternoon, Air Canada announced it was suspending flights to Puerto Vallarta due to an ongoing security situation and advised customers not to go to their airport. U.S. had offered up to $15 million for his capture. The U.S. State Department had offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, is one of the most powerful and fastest-growing criminal organizations in Mexico and was born in 2009. In February, the Trump administration designated the cartel as a foreign terrorist organization.