Unrest Follows Law Enforcement Operation in Mexico

A top Mexican resort town turned into a war zone Sunday after one of the world’s most feared cartel bosses was reportedly killed in a military raid — and the backlash was immediate.

Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, the powerful and notoriously violent leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), was killed during a Mexican military operation in Tapalpa, according to multiple reports. Within hours, cartel gunmen unleashed coordinated chaos across large swaths of the country.

Puerto Vallarta — a jewel of Mexico’s Pacific coast and the nation’s fourth-largest tourist destination — found itself under siege.

The U.S. State Department urged Americans to shelter in place as buses burned, trucks were torched, and thick black smoke rose above beachside hotels. Some American tourists reported being stranded, watching the violence unfold in real time.

“It looked like the whole city was on fire,” Colorado native Scott Posilkin told The Post from Puerto Vallarta. He described seeing a bus stopped in the middle of the road as passengers fled — only to realize it was no accident.

“A man with a gun came around the other side of the bus and waved it at us and told us to go back,” he said. “Right now we’re sheltering in place.”

Hotels in the resort zone reportedly shut down operations. Businesses closed their doors. Online posts from tourists described staying put, waiting for official instructions, unsure of what would happen next.

The violence was not confined to one city.

Jalisco Governor Pablo Lemus Navarro confirmed federal forces carried out an operation that triggered clashes and
retaliatory blockades. He warned that much of the state was in “code red” and urged residents to remain indoors.

Cartel operatives reportedly set vehicles ablaze across Jalisco and in multiple neighboring states — Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, Colima, Aguascalientes, and Veracruz — creating fiery barricades designed to slow or trap security forces.