DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Two days after a DeKalb County woman was supposed to fly home from vacationing in Mexico, she’s still waiting to return to the United States.
More than 70 people died during and after a military operation that killed a cartel leader in Mexico.
We know 25 Mexican National Guard Troops were killed in the operation to kill “El Mencho,” the leader of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico.
El Mencho, whose real name was Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, led the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
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Channel 2’s Lori Wilson spoke with Amy Stoelinga, a school teacher, who got stuck in Puerto Vallarta after the attack that killed the Oseguera Cervantes.
Stoelinga told Wilson she’d had an amazing winter break while vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
She met up with her mother to visit her sister who lives there, but when she was supposed to go to the airport on Sunday, she had to shelter in place instead.
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“I was gonna get some more souvenirs for friends and I looked out my balcony and I saw smoke,” Stoelinga told Channel 2 Action News.
Stoelinga took video of the smoke, which she first thought was a hotel room that might have been on fire nearby.
“Then there was a couple other, not explosions but fire smokes, and that’s when I was like ‘okay, this isn’t normal,’” Stoelinga said. “There was no one on the street, there was no one driving, there was no one, there was no one walking, there was nothing.”
By herself at the time, Stoelinga tried to figure out what was going on.
“There was rumor and chatter, but I didn’t know what was true or not true, I had no idea,” Stoelinga said.
She later learned there was a shelter in place order because of unrest after El Mencho’s death.
“I had my passport, I had a go bag and then had my luggage because I didn’t know what to expect,” Stoelinga said.
Stoelinga’s flight was canceled because of the unrest and she was among many people had to get flights rebooked, but she says she’s already looking forward to her next visit.
“Stuff happens in every city, I feel safe and happy that I got to spend a few extra days in the sun,” Stoelinga told Channel 2 Action News.
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