Students are rethinking their spring break travel plans to Puerto Vallarta because of the death of a prominent cartel leader.
The Mexican military shot and killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” the leader of Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNGC) on Feb. 22. Cervantes was killed in Jalisco State, which set off retaliatory violence, including roadblocks and burning vehicles.
More than 70 people died in the attempt to capture Cervantes in Tapalpa, Mexico, authorities said Monday. Victims included security forces, suspected cartel members and others.
This comes as many USC students are planning to travel to Puerto Vallarta, Cabo and even the state of Jalisco.
The U.S. Department of State currently advises Americans not to travel to these Mexican states: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacán, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. These areas have high levels of cartel and gang violence, kidnapping risk and limited capacity for U.S. authorities to assist travelers in an emergency.
Connor Tuite, a senior at USC majoring in communications, said his group chat, once filled with dinner reservations and activity plans, has shifted to conversations about safety alerts and travel insurance.
“We didn’t buy anything until a week ago, and we didn’t get any travel insurance because we thought, ‘What could go wrong?’” Tuite said. “It was honestly comical how the timing worked out.”
“Under no circumstances will you be going to Mexico for Spring Break,” said one of the moms in Tuite’s spring break group.
Matías Levan, a USC senior double-majoring in film and television production and theater, said he initially did not realize the seriousness of the situation.
“In Colombia, I grew up hearing about events like this in the news,” Levan said. “I think it’s a little different for me because sometimes something big happens and it’s over in a week, which is why [the] mentality is more like we need to wait a week to see how the situation evolves before making a decision.”
Still, he acknowledged the uncertainty facing students.
Nearly 4.2 million international travelers visit Mexico during March, according to Mexico’s national statistics agency INEGI. According to the most recent data from the Mexican Secretary of Tourism, over one million travelers flew into the Puerto Vallarta airport in the first half of 2022.
While students debate refunds and rescheduled flights, for residents of Puerto Vallarta, like Natalia Osuna, the situation is not about a vacation – it’s their livelihood.
Osuna’s parents own Xalli Club, a restaurant and beach club in Puerto Vallarta. She explained tourism is the backbone of the local economy, particularly during “high season.”
“Spring break has always been one of the biggest periods that local businesses rely on,” Osuna said. “During the off-season, the slow business days, we know it’ll pick up come March through April.”
Osuna emphasized the violence on Feb. 22 was unexpected and “not representative of daily life in the city.”
She called her parents, who explained that most of the unrest occurred on Sunday, and residents were instructed to stay home.
“For people to see this and understandably be scared to travel there, we don’t want them to think this is what the city is,” Osuna said. “It’s so much more than that.”
For local business owners, the stakes extend beyond a single week in March.
“We’re lucky that we have the option to just stay in L.A. if we want to,” Tuite, the student traveling to Puerto Vallarta, said. “Some people don’t have the choice to just cancel their travel plans.”
As students wait for updated travel advisories, many remain in limbo.
For students like Tuite and Levan, their spring break plans come with perspective.
“Of course, part of me thinks, ‘That sucks if we can’t go on our trip,’” Levan said. “But then we’re very privileged to be here and be safe. There are people who live in Puerto Vallarta, and this isn’t spring break for them. It’s their reality.”