Many flights in and out of Puerto Vallarta and other Mexican cities were canceled on Sunday, amid a wave of arson fires and other activities by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and American tourists were told to shelter in place and avoid areas of law enforcement activity.

It was a scary day Sunday in many parts of Mexico, particularly around the coastal state of Jalisco, where a cartel was taking their revenge out on the public at large following the killing of their leader, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” in a military operation.

Puerto Vallarta, the popular tourist city with a significant LGBTQ draw, is typically spared from cartel violence, however that changed Sunday, with reports of businesses set on fire, cars disabled by spike strips and then set on fire, and noxious smoke filling beachside resorts.

As the New York Times reports, many major US airlines suspended flights into and out of Puerto Vallarta's airport Sunday, however some flights appear to have resumed on Monday. A look at United Airlines flights Monday morning showed several inbound flights to PVR, leaving from SFO and Denver, already in flight.

Shasta Townsend, a Canadian who lives in Puerto Vallarta, tells the Times that "order has been restored" as of Monday, though it may be temporary. Others described seeing locals lined up at the remaining grocery stores that were undamaged, hoarding staples like loaves of bread, prepping for worse things to come.

El Mencho was killed in an operation Sunday morning that was carried out by Mexican special forces. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt subsequently announced that the US had provided intelligence that aided the operation, saying in a statement, "‘El Mencho’ was a top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland."

David Mora, analyst for International Crisis Group in Mexico, explains to the Associated Press, "Ever since President [Claudia] Sheinbaum has been in power, the army has been way more confrontational, combative against criminal groups in Mexico. This is signaling to the US that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico can do it, we don’t need US troops on Mexican soil."

Per the AP, the DEA believes the Jalisco cartel to be as powerful as the larger Sinaloa cartel, which has been weakened by the loss of its leaders, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who are both in US custody.

The US issued a security alert covering a wide swath of Mexico, including the Cancun and the Yucatan peninsula on the east coast of the country. That alert was modified on Monday, and the US government said "the situation has returned to normal" in Quintana Roo, the state that is home to Cancun, Tulum, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen.

In Puerto Vallarta, however, the government said Monday that "flights continue to be disrupted due to availability of flight crews."

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