Community Police & Fire

Gig Harbor family among those stranded amid drug violence in Mexico

What until Sunday morning had been a pleasant Puerto Vallarta vacation for a Gig Harbor couple and their 10-year-old daughter became a disturbing and disquieting adventure that left them and other tourists stranded in a town torn by violent chaos.

Early Sunday, Mexican soldiers and police reported killing the head of a Jalisco drug cartel during a raid in which several other people were killed or wounded.  News of the raid sparked fiery fury and other violence in several Mexican states.

The Gig Harbor family, which we are choosing not to identify for now, is following official advisories to shelter in place. They likely will not be able to leave the beachfront resort city soon and are uncertain of what the next few says will bring.

A Gig Harbor family provided this photo of smoke clouding the skyline of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Flight canceled

Alaska Airlines cancelled the flight they were to leave on today and their Airbnb contract expires this morning.  The earliest flights Alaska has offered them are at least days away.

In a telephone conversation Sunday night (Feb. 22), a family member told us that they learned of the local chaos when they awoke that morning.  Previously peaceful and scenic views from their high-rise rental unit framed flames and towering columns of smoke from numerous fires throughout the town.

She described gun-toting, bomb-throwing arsonists believed to be associated with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel speeding along local streets in cars and motorcycles. New fires appeared in their wakes.

“They burned the Costco, they burned grocery stores,” she said. “They threw rebar into streets to stop vehicles, got the occupants out and set fires to the cars and buses,” blocking roadways.

‘Relatively safe’

The woman said she saw evidence of police and other first responders Sunday morning. Helicopters hovered overhead and military vessels arrived offshore. Fewer such activities were visible later in the day.

“I’m not super scared,” she said.  “We feel relatively safe.”

She said she was planning on walking Sunday night to a still-operating nearby grocery to purchase some supplies. They still have on hand foods her daughter likes.

She added that the attackers did not appear to be specifically targeting tourists or tourist sites.

And how’s her daughter absorbing what’s going on?

“We told her that a bad man had been killed and that the bad man’s bad friends were doing the bad things,” she said.