(OTTAWA) Federal government advises Canadians in parts of Mexico to limit travel and ‘take refuge if possible,’ amid spike in violence following arrest of ‘El Chapo’s’ son .
The violence is said to be particularly marked in Culiacán, Mazatlán, Los Mochis and Guasave.
Canadian tourists were stuck inside a Mexican hotel on Thursday as buses due to transport them safely to an airport were engulfed in flames outside.
“It’s just chaos,” said Tina Dahl from Edmonton, whose six family members are stranded in the popular tourist town of Mazatlán. They were to fly Thursday evening.
The violence began after a pre-dawn security operation in which security forces captured a possible drug trafficker, the son of former cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
Canadian officials wrote on Twitter that cars were set on fire, shots were fired and there was a threat to critical infrastructure, including airports.
The Canadian government advises that Culiacán and Mazatlán airports are closed and that all flights have been suspended at Los Mochis airport, until further notice.
Jason Kung, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said Canadians should avoid non-essential travel to several areas of Mexico due to high levels of violence and the presence of organized crime.
Canadians requiring emergency consular assistance can contact Global Affairs Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Center at 001-800-514-0129 (toll-free from Mexico only ), by text message at +1613-686-3658, by WhatsApp at +1613-909-8881, by Telegram at Emergency Canada Abroad or by email at [email protected].
Burned buses
Mme Dahl mentioned that his brother, his sister-in-law, their three children aged 7, 8 and 10, as well as his sister-in-law’s mother were taken from their hotel room.
“They’re supposed to come back today [jeudi]but they are stuck in their hotel because the three buses that were supposed to go to the airport were set on fire by the cartel [de la drogue] “, she explained.
Without a phone line to the hotel, Mme Dahl said he was able to communicate with his relatives through the social network Facebook.
“They all seem to be doing well,” she said. [Ils sont] obviously shaken. Just reading between the lines of text messages and other messages, they are quite shaken. »
The violence comes days before President Andrés Manuel López Obrador will host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Joe Biden at a summit of North American leaders in Mexico City.
With the Associated Press