CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Some tourists from metro Atlanta are stranded in Mexico, while others with plans to vacation in the country are left in limbo.
A military operation killed the country’s most wanted drug leader, leading to a rash of violence.
Channel 2’s Candace McCowan is live at the International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for Channel 2 Action News at 6:00. Flights were canceled Sunday and again Monday.
That means some tourists haven’t been able to leave here for vacations in Mexico and others are stranded.
They were hoping to arrive in Atlanta Sunday and don’t think they will get home until later this week.
Many recounted harrowing moments when the violence started.
“We basically woke up because we heard detonations, five or six detonations around 9 a.m.,” tourist Alexander Cors said.
Cors said he woke up Sunday in his Airbnb in Puerto Vallarta to “five black columns of thick smoke going up.”
The violence is the fallout from a Sunday military operation that killed several cartel members, including the head of Jalisco New Generation Cartel known as El Mencho.
In retaliation, criminal groups set up hundreds of roadblocks and set cars and buildings on fire.
Cors said his first concern was his mother.
“Her hotel was closer to where the cars exploded and were on fire, so by 3 p.m. I went down to empty streets and picked up my mom at the hotel, jogged back up the hill. I didn’t want to leave her in that hotel,” he said.
Atlantan Christian Redondo was set to travel home Sunday. His flight was canceled.
He says he was feet away from the violence.
“There were these men on motor bikes that pulled up at the intersection right next to us,” Redondo said. “They smashed into the ground floor convenience store of the hotel in front of ours.”
Because of the violence the U.S. Embassy says Americans need to continue to shelter in place in some places like Puerto Vallarta, and Guadalajara, while the situation has returned to normal in other places like Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
The violence impacted Guadalajara, where Jose Medina’s mom is visiting family.
“I’m like, ‘What’s wrong,’ and she’s like, ‘They’re burning down buses outside of the town,” he said.
The Marietta man said his mom was set to fly to Atlanta Sunday.
“She’s sounding a little bit worried because she’s never been through anything like this,” Medina said.
“It was scary because you don’t know what’s happening,” said Adam Langley of Atlanta.
He said the violence seemed to have quieted down.
“We just stayed inside our house. We are not going anywhere until we know it’s safe to do so,” Langley said.
Others are hopeful they can salvage their vacations.
“We are going to sit it out and see what happens,” Cors said.
A travel expert has advice on vacationing in other countries.
“if you’re there or you’re thinking of going, make sure you enroll with the State Department. They have a thing called Step. It’s really easy. You just put in your information where you’re going to be staying. That puts you in touch with the embassy. In case anything goes wrong, they can keep an eye on you,” said Clint Henderson, The Points Guy.
The Embassy says part of the problem with resuming flight in Puerto Vallarta is the availability of flight crews.
One man McCowan spoke with says he couldn’t reschedule a flight until the end of this week.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
TRENDING STORIES:
- 2-time WNBA champion, former UGA player Kara Braxton dies in I-285 crash
- ICE ‘mega center’ facility in Social Circle part of $38.3 billion strategy, DHS tells city
- Body of missing 72-year-old Navy veteran found in Georgia
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]