Tourists trapped in Mexico after violence erupted following the death of cartel kingpin “El Mencho” finally managed to return to the US as flights into Los Angeles International Airport resumed.
Air travelers returning from Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta described gunfire and cars set ablaze as they fled Mexico.
One traveler from Northern California said cartel members stormed the resort she was staying at in Puerto Vallarta.
“A vision I will never forget. They had all their guns, masks on their face,” the tourist, Kelley, told NBC 4 after landing at LAX.
She added that she will never return to the resort city, one of the most prominent in Mexico rocked by the spiraling violence.
A tourist visiting Guadalajara described hearing gunfire from his hotel.
“Nothing was safe. There was mandates to stay inside,” the traveler traveler, Jonathan, told NBC 4 from LAX.
“They’re shooting a bunch of guns and obviously there’s ambulances and police chasing them, but yeah I didn’t want to put my head outside and find out.”
The death of “El Mencho,” the leader of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, at the hands of Mexican security forces triggered a wave of cartel carnage across the nationa.
More than 70 people, including cartel members and Mexican security forces, died in the operation and aftermath of his death.
Cartel members have set fires and blocked roads with burning vehicles to wreak havoc.
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Other air travelers arriving at LAX told The Post of their experiences.
“It was a little scary,” 24-year-old Emmanuel Espinoza, from Ventura County, said after arriving from Guadalajara on Tuesday morning.
“I took a taxi to the airport from where my mom stays… the taxi was kind of hesitant to take me. But everything was fine on the way here. It was pretty scary what was going on over there,” he added.
