LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Travelers returning to the Las Vegas valley Monday say they battled cancelled flights, widespread fires, and sleepless nights after the killing of a cartel leader prompted a surge in violence across Mexico.
The death toll following the violence has surged past 70 as Mexican officials recalled Sunday’s operation and capture of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho.”
READ MORE: Las Vegas tourists describe lockdown in Puerto Vallarta following El Mencho’s death
FOX5 spoke with travelers arriving into Harry Reid International Airport in both English and Spanish about the challenges they faced in getting back safely.
One mother traveling with her daughter described a chaotic scene out of Guadalajara, which has many citizens sheltering in place to weather retaliatory violence from cartels. “Many fires, the fire of trucks, trailers, the cars, the convenience stores. It was very weird yesterday. The city is completely alone. Nobody wants to leave right now.”
She added, “It’s good that they are taking action. However, I think they should have been prepared a little bit better to protect the citizens.”
Another woman, a Mexican national living in California, said she was unable to find a flight back to Southern California and instead flew into Las Vegas, where she spent the night before continuing home.
She said that on the day she was scheduled to depart, flights were cancelled and people around her were visibly nervous. She said she and others could not find a hotel and were forced to sleep at the airport.
“It was horrible. It was an experience that I [don’t] desire for anyone. It was a horrible moment,” she told FOX5. “The road was closed, cars were burning, people were running in Chapala. It was something that I consider terrorism, and I don’t want this to happen in the country where I was born.”
She said she feared for her safety and that her only goal was to get back to the United States — saying it did not matter which airport she landed in, as long as she got out. She said she does not plan to return to Mexico with her husband anytime soon.
Several other travelers told FOX5 they were fearful while in Guadalajara. Many said they do not expect to return anytime soon and are waiting until the unrest has died down.
The U.S. State Department has urged travelers to be cautious about traveling back to Mexico, and has since issued “Do Not Travel” advisories for several states.
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