Puerto Vallarta Businesses Burned and Flights Suspended as Violence Surges After Death of 'El Mencho'
The killing of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho, " by the army set off coordinated attacks across several Mexican states that have already produced burned businesses and disrupted air service. The unrest has immediate transport consequences: flights to Guadalajara and puerto vallarta were altered and some carriers suspended operations to the resort city as roads and terminals faced blockages and panic.
Delta Air Lines flight 1992 diverts to Austin after disturbances
Delta Air Lines flight 1992, which departed at 9: 43 a. m. bound for Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla International Airport in Guadalajara, made an unscheduled landing at Austin–Bergstrom Airport at 12: 20 p. m. because of reports of disturbances in Jalisco after the death of El Mencho. Flight records show the aircraft later departed Austin at 1: 18 p. m. and was scheduled to arrive in Atlanta at 4: 26 p. m.; the carrier warned on its website that civil disturbances in Jalisco could affect travel to, from or through Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. Airline officials expect other carriers to modify Jalisco routings temporarily, and passengers with flights to Jalisco were urged to contact their airline for updates.
Aeropuerto Internacional de Guadalajara and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico
The Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), which operates the Aeropuerto Internacional Miguel Hidalgo, said the terminal is operating with normality and that there are no cancellations or internal operational impacts. GAP stated the facilities remain under protection and in permanent coordination with the Guardia Nacional and the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, and the Gabinete de Seguridad confirmed that airports in Jalisco are functioning and passengers are boarding as scheduled.
Despite those assurances, videos that began circulating shortly after 11 a. m. showed people running, hiding and being directed into waiting areas amid reports of armed men; GAP characterized that upheaval as a "psicosis que se generó" and maintained that images and material shared on social media do not correspond to risk situations inside terminals.
Puerto Vallarta: Costco, road closures and business burnings
Criminal groups set fires to vehicles and commercial premises in multiple locations, and among the affected businesses was a Costco branch in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. In Puerto Vallarta there were reports of burned vehicles and shops that in turn restricted access from the south along federal highway 200. The government response in Jalisco included activating the código rojo and suspending public transport and classes.
Wider pattern of attacks across states and highways
The reaction attributed to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación was coordinated across Jalisco, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, Colima and Guanajuato, producing roadblocks, shootings and the systematic burning of vehicles. Mexican media documented fires involving cars, colectivos and trucks on the Tamazula federal highway, in Acatlán de Juárez and Ciudad Guzmán, and reported incidents as far as Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cancún. In Michoacán the blockades affected the municipalities of Buenavista, Sahuayo and Jiquilpan.
Videos circulating on social platforms show numerous vehicles in flames with heavy smoke and closures that rendered several routes fully or partially impassable. The blockade and burnings around Carretera a Chapala coincided with GAP's message that, for the moment, flights from the Guadalajara terminal would not be affected internally.
Local security incidents, bus terminal disruptions and prison reports
The chaos extended to ground transport: the central camionera in Guadalajara experienced a partial halt in bus departures because of road closures and several nearby shootings around the Tlaquepaque terminal, which impeded passenger arrivals. Preliminary media reports also circulated that armed men entered the Ixtapa prison, fired at custodial staff and freed inmates; those claims had not been confirmed by authorities, and some videos show bodies outside the jail—details described as extraoficial.
Amid the flow of unverified imagery, the news outlet Milenio warned that some viral content was generated with artificial intelligence or otherwise imprecise, a caution intended to curb the spread of false material that has intensified public alarm.
Airline suspensions affect Puerto Vallarta routes
Certain airlines suspended operations because of the security situation: Air Canada and United Airlines temporarily halted flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, citing ongoing safety concerns. Those stoppages came as panic spread in some airport terminals, where footage showed passengers and even members of the Guardia Nacional running with luggage and seeking shelter—images that stoked fears of a possible criminal assault but were questioned by airport authorities who emphasized military coordination and continued operations.
What makes this notable is the speed with which a single security development—the army operation that killed El Mencho—translated into coordinated nationwide disruptions affecting roads, commerce and air travel, forcing carriers to reroute flights and prompting authorities to deploy military protections at key terminals.
