Irish businessman Paul Kenny was on holiday with his wife and 17-year-old son in Puerto Vallarta when the Mexican seaside town saw a wave of violence after the killing of one of Mexico’s most wanted drug cartel leaders on Sunday.
“El Mencho”, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, was the leader of the Jalisco New Generation gang when he was killed, alongside eight other cartel members, during an operation by Mexican security forces. The killing triggered clashes between gang members and security forces across several Mexican states, with 25 members of Mexico’s National Guard killed during attacks in Jalisco State.
“We’re located about a half mile from the main road where they were burning out vehicles,” says Kenny, who runs a manufacturing company a three-hour drive from Puerto Vallarta in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco. “We could see the smoke rising and everything going on.”
Across Mexico, roads were shut and flights suspended, leaving Mexicans and tourists stranded. At the complex where Kenny owns a holiday apartment in Puerto Vallarta, he received warnings from the management company to stay inside and residents were warned to avoid the beach.
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Kenny, originally from Kilconnell in Co Galway, says he was not concerned about crossfire while inside the holiday complex and that he would be more concerned if he was in a vehicle on the road, or in a convenience store “which they tend to target”. He says he experienced a similar situation several years ago in Guadalajara: “It’s not the first time something like this has happened to us.”
[ ‘El Mencho’: His cartel, his death, and what happens nextOpens in new window ]
After spending an extra day in Puerto Vallarta due to the violence, Kenny says he was keen to return to Guadalajara and oversee his factory floor on Tuesday. Instead, he and his family were forced to stay another night due to road closures. Kenny sent The Irish Times videos of his planned route home, which showed burnt-out cars along the side of a highway.
“Some people made the journey from Puerto Vallarta earlier; some people are on the road now and diverting to local roads,” says Kenny. “The majority have decided to stay until [the situation] is more secure.”
A spokesperson for Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs said the department is “monitoring the situation in the Mexican state of Jalisco, where ongoing security operations and incidents of violence have resulted in road and airport closures”. The department is advising against all travel to Jalisco State, including to large urban areas such as Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara.
