N.B. residents under shelter-in-place order in Mexico as …

New Brunswick residents are caught up in the “code red” in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and are under a shelter-in-place order following drug cartel violence that erupted over the weekend.

The balcony on Andy Wilson’s Puerto Vallarta condo overlooks Banderas Bay and the wider Pacific Ocean. But that view quickly changed on Sunday, filling with plumes of smoke and the sound of sirens echoing through the downtown. Wilson and his wife, who are from Harvey Station, are in the epicentre of the violence that erupted over the weekend in the Mexican state of Jalisco, in the wake of a government announcement that the head of one of the country’s most powerful crime groups was dead.

The city is now under a “code red” with transportation coming to a complete halt, following reports of gunmen blocking highways and setting cars on fire in several cities.  Wilson has been sheltering in place at his fourth-floor condominium, with a bird's-eye view of the chaos below.  “We could see the plumes of smoke rising up from the other explosions, and then we heard some explosions and saw the columns of smoke rising up,” he said.

“The military helicopters were up and down the coast, constantly flying low. And there were a couple of Navy boats out there too with guns.” “It seems very, very quiet, almost eerily so because this is a busy place,” he said. “Normally there's lots of music, lots of traffic. Right now there's no traffic moving other than a bit of foot traffic.” Flights to and from the region were cancelled on Sunday, with some turning around mid-flight.

But Air Transat confirmed on Monday that all flights to and from Puerto Vallarta will resume on Tuesday.  Wilson had planned to move on to nearby Sayulita on Tuesday, but those plans are currently on hold. He said he’s hoping things will return to normal in time for their return flights home in a week. There are more than 26,000 Canadians in Mexico right now. The federal government is urging everyone to register with Global Affairs Canada.

Wilson said they have tried, but the website hasn’t been working.  Brian Caldwell, who lives in Moncton, has been in Puerto Vallarta with his partner since early January. He said he was out for a walk on Sunday morning when he started seeing black smoke in multiple locations, followed by either a gunshot or an explosion. “And then I saw people running,” he said. “I didn't know what was happening, but I just knew that I needed to turn around and go back to the condo.” Caldwell has been sheltering at his condominium ever since.  He was planning to stay in Mexico until April and said he’s “cautiously optimistic” that things will improve quickly so they can keep those plans.  “But again, if things don't improve fairly quickly, then we will certainly reconsider that,” he said.

Caldwell said he has also tried to register with Global Affairs Canada — without success.  “I've tried on my iPhone, my iPad, my laptop, and it's just not going through, or there's just too many people who are trying to do it,” he said. “It just said the service was unavailable.” He’s keeping his “fingers crossed” that he can keep his holiday plans and remain in Mexico for the rest of the winter.  Shannon MacIver is an advisor with Marlin Travel in Miramichi.

She’s telling people to avoid social media and get their information from trusted sources, like their booking agencies and airlines, who have people on the ground.  “They have more up-to-date information and they know what's happening right there in front of them,” she said. “I would wait for the suppliers’ take on it before I made a decision.” For anyone uncomfortable about their booked vacations, she said suppliers are giving flexibility for changes, especially in the Puerto Vallarta region.  The disruption comes right before the New Brunswick March break, with Mexico often a popular destination for people traveling south.

But MacIver said she wouldn’t rule out Mexico just yet.  “If it were me, I would hang on a little bit longer and wait and see what transpires,” she said. “We have to wait and see what's going to play out in the next few days.”  The Mexico warnings come on the heels of travel advisories for Atlantic Canada’s other popular vacation destination — Cuba — after the Caribbean island's major airport warned they would run out of jet fuel.

Air Canada and WestJet announced they were winding down winter operations in Cuba due to unreliability of the aviation fuel supply. MacIver said these two destinations have kept travel agents on their toes this winter. Allyson McCormack is a producer with CBC New Brunswick, based in Fredericton. She has been with CBC News since 2008.

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