The federal government has ordered Canadians in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to shelter in place due to violence erupting in the region.

Follow for key updates as they occur:

WestJet diverts flights enroute to Puerto Vallarta

In a statement to CTV News, WestJet said it has diverted seven flights that were enroute to Puerto Vallarta (PVR) and cancelled 37 flights to and from Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara (GDL) and Manzanillo (ZLO).

A WestJet spokesperson said 11 flights in Calgary have been impacted as a result.

“WestJet’s flexible/change policy has been put into effect for guests travelling to PVR, GDL and ZLO over the next two days. For guests currently in destination, WestJet and Sunwing are arranging extended stays so guests can comply with local official guidelines, the statement said.

“As conditions evolve, additional cancellations may be required to ensure the safety of everyone in WestJet’s world. We are advising all guests with imminent travel plans to Mexico check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.”

Mexican president urges calm

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum urged citizens on Sunday to remain calm and stay informed following the operation that led to the death of narcotrafficking kingpin Nemesio Oseguera, one of the most-wanted criminals in the country.

“There is absolute coordination with governments in every state; we should keep ourselves informed and stay calm,” Sheinbaum wrote on X.

Following the military operation, armed men blocked off multiple highways and burned businesses in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato, Puebla and Sinaloa.

AFP

‘Chaotic and fast-moving situation’

Ryan Voutilainen, who was scheduled to fly home to B.C. Sunday, is sheltering in place at his Airbnb amid violence in Puerto Vallarta.

Voutilainen told CTV News the first sign something was wrong came from a friend in a nearby hotel, who sent video of vehicles being set on fire around the “main drag” popular with tourists.

After taking shelter on the roof of his building, he said he saw “people on motorbikes pushing a car into an intersection and setting it ablaze and then actually looting the local corner store.”

While he felt relatively safe where he was, he said the uncertainty was unnerving.

“You don’t know what they’re going to do,” he said, adding, “it’s a very chaotic and fast-moving situation currently down here.”

For now, all he knows for sure is that he can’t leave.

‘People are trying to rebook’

“There’s black smoke you can see rising in the distance at several points around on the horizon, and the lobby is just absolutely jam packed where I am with tourists whose flights have been cancelled,” CP24.com journalist Joshua Freeman said from a resort located a few kilometres north of Puerto Vallarta.

“People are trying to rebook. I spoke to a couple of people in the lobby and they’re not quite sure what they’re going to do, because it’s a busy season right now, and hotels and resorts are full. So, a lot of uncertainty for travellers here.”

The area is a popular destination for Canadian tourists. At a resort north of the affected region, the beach remains open.

“You can see smoke rising off in the horizon and you don’t quite know what it’s about, but there’s not really much of a sense of, you know, not being safe here,” he said. The main road, he added, which is usually fairly busy is currently “dead quiet.”

‘It’s quite, quite tense’

Artur Wilczynski, a Canadian security expert in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, says he had a flight back to Ottawa today that was cancelled.

“The information that we have from our airline is that the soonest they can get us out will be Wednesday,” Wilczynski told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

“We booked a few more days here at the hotel to make sure we have a place to stay, and we’re going to play it by ear to see if we’ll be able to get out sometime hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday, but right now we’re scheduled with our airline for Wednesday.”

Wilczynski said he saw smoke outside his hotel this morning, and shortly after across the city, along with a few explosions. With little information at the time, he went to the beach to find out what was happening and returned when he learned more.

“It’s quite, quite tense,” he said. “We’re not allowed to leave the hotel. Our flights have been cancelled. All of the ride shares are cancelled. We could see from the rooftop of our hotel the road to the airport, and there was a fire set across from the cruise terminal next to a large shopping mall.”

Canada ‘deeply alarmed’

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says Canada is closely monitoring what she described as a “serious and rapidly evolving” security situation in Mexico’s Jalisco state, including in and around Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.

In a social media post on Sunday, Anand said the federal government is “deeply alarmed” by reports of violence and officials with Global Affairs Canada are in close contact with local authorities and stand ready to provide consular assistance to Canadians in the region.

“The safety and security of Canadians abroad remains our highest priority and it is for this reason that we are issuing an updated travel advisory,” Anand said.

Canadians told to ‘keep a low profile’

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) confirmed to CTV News that it was aware of reports of criminal groups setting up roadblocks with burning vehicles in several cities in Jalisco state, including Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

“A shelter-in-place order is in effect in Puerto Vallarta. All taxi and rideshare services are suspended until further notice,” a spokesperson for GAC said in an email to CTV News.

Canadians in Jalisco state are advised to keep a “low profile” and stay alert about the “rapidly evolving situation” via local and international media, GAC said. They are also advised to follow the advice of local authorities, including orders to shelter in place.

There are currently 18,703 Canadians registered as being in Mexico, including 4,672 in Jalisco state, according to Global Affairs Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad system.

However, officials noted that these numbers provide only an estimate of the voluntarily registered number of Canadians and are not exact, since some people may have registered with no travel plans.

“Canadian officials are providing consular assistance. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed,” a GAC spokesperson said.