Airlines halt Puerto Vallarta flights after violence following Mexican cartel leader's killing

Smoke billows from burning vehicles amid a wave of violence, with torched vehicles and gunmen blocking highways in more than half a dozen states, following a military operation in which a government source said Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, known as “El Mencho,” was killed, in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, February 22, 2026, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video.

Stringer | Reuters

U.S. and Canadian airlines halted flights to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and some to Guadalajara after violence broke out in the country in the wake of the Mexican army’s killing of a cartel leader.

The U.S. State Department on Sunday told U.S. citizens to shelter in place, citing “ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.”

Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and others canceled flights to Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist destination on Mexico’s Pacific coast, and to Guadalajara, which is also in the Jalisco state. Airlines waived change fees for affected travelers.

Several Mexican states also canceled school on Monday after the country’s army killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes. Known as “El Mencho,” he led one of fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, notorious for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against government officials who challenged it, the Associated Press reported.

He was killed during a shoot-out in his home state of Jalisco, the AP said.

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